Armoured personnel carriers and troops patrolled the streets of the capital on Monday, Reuters TV showed. There was little civilian traffic, barring a few motorcycles and three-wheel taxis.
At least 91 people were killed and hundreds injured on Sunday in a wave of violence across the country of 170 million people as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse tens of thousands of protesters. Starting Sunday evening, a nationwide curfew has been imposed, the railways have suspended services and the country’s huge garments industry has closed.
Bangladesh has been engulfed by protests and violence that began last month after student groups demanded scrapping of a controversial quota system in government jobs. That escalated into a campaign to seek the ouster of Hasina, who won a fourth straight term in January in an election boycotted by the opposition.
Sunday’s death toll, which included at least 13 policemen, was the highest for a single day from any protests in Bangladesh’s recent history, surpassing the 67 deaths reported on July 19 when students took to the streets against the quotas.
Last month, at least 150 people were killed and thousands injured in violence touched off by student groups protesting against quotas for government jobs. At least 300 people had died since the violence began last month, French news agency AFP reported on Monday.
The government declared the indefinite nationwide curfew starting at 6 p.m. (1200 GMT) on Sunday and also announced a three-day general holiday starting from Monday. “The government has killed many students. The time has come for the final answer,” protest coordinator Asif Mahmud said in a statement on Facebook late on Sunday.
“Everyone will come to Dhaka especially from the surrounding districts. Come to Dhaka and take a position on the streets.”
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