At least 27 people were killed and scores injured in clashes in Bangladesh on Sunday, as police fired tear gas and lobbed stun grenades to disperse tens of thousands of protesters calling for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign.
The interior ministry declared an indefinite nationwide curfew starting at 6 p.m. (1200 GMT) on Sunday, the first time it has taken such a step during the current protests that began last month.
The fresh clashes erupted between Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina’s supporters and the anti-government protestors, who are demanding the Prime Minister to step down.
The deaths were reported in the capital Dhaka and in the northern districts of Bogra, Pabna and Rangpur, as well as in Magura in the west, Comilla in the east, and Barisal and Feni in the south.
Fresh clashes erupt
Demonstrators blocked major highways on Sunday, causing massive trouble for the commuters. In Pabna, northeastern district, a clash between protesters and activists of the ruling Awami League resulted in at least three deaths, according to witnesses.
Police claimed that they had not fired bullets, but improvised explosives were detonated, turning the area into a battleground.
Two construction workers were killed on their way to work and 30 were injured in the central district of Munsiganj, during a three-way clash of protesters, police and ruling party activists, witnesses told news agency Reuters.
PM Hasina calls protest ‘sabotage’
PM Sheikh Hasina said those protesting were not students but terrorists and urged people to “suppress them with a firm hand”.
Those engaging in sabotage in the name of protest across the country are not students but terrorists, she said, according to Prothom Alo newspaper.
Hasina called a meeting of the National Committee on Security Affairs at Ganabhaban, the newspaper reported citing sources from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
“I appeal to the countrymen to suppress these terrorists with a firm hand,” she said.
The meeting was attended by the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, police, RAB, BGB, and other top security officers.
The interior ministry declared an indefinite nationwide curfew starting at 6 p.m. (1200 GMT) on Sunday, the first time it has taken such a step during the current protests that began last month.
The fresh clashes erupted between Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina’s supporters and the anti-government protestors, who are demanding the Prime Minister to step down.
The deaths were reported in the capital Dhaka and in the northern districts of Bogra, Pabna and Rangpur, as well as in Magura in the west, Comilla in the east, and Barisal and Feni in the south.
Fresh clashes erupt
Demonstrators blocked major highways on Sunday, causing massive trouble for the commuters. In Pabna, northeastern district, a clash between protesters and activists of the ruling Awami League resulted in at least three deaths, according to witnesses.
Police claimed that they had not fired bullets, but improvised explosives were detonated, turning the area into a battleground.
Two construction workers were killed on their way to work and 30 were injured in the central district of Munsiganj, during a three-way clash of protesters, police and ruling party activists, witnesses told news agency Reuters.
PM Hasina calls protest ‘sabotage’
PM Sheikh Hasina said those protesting were not students but terrorists and urged people to “suppress them with a firm hand”.
Those engaging in sabotage in the name of protest across the country are not students but terrorists, she said, according to Prothom Alo newspaper.
Hasina called a meeting of the National Committee on Security Affairs at Ganabhaban, the newspaper reported citing sources from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
“I appeal to the countrymen to suppress these terrorists with a firm hand,” she said.
The meeting was attended by the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, police, RAB, BGB, and other top security officers.
