Thousands of protesters gathered in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Sunday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. During this, at least two people were killed and 30 others were injured in clashes between protesters and ruling Awami League supporters on the outskirts of Dhaka.
The clashes began on Sunday morning when protesters who had come to participate in the non-cooperation programme demanding the resignation of the government faced opposition from Awami League, Chhatra League and Jubo League activists.
“At least two people were killed and 30 others injured in clashes between protesters and Awami League men in Munshiganj,” the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.
The newspaper reported that several cocktails exploded during the incident. The identities of the deceased could not be ascertained immediately.
Meanwhile, hundreds of students and professionals gathered at Dhaka’s Shahbagh and blocked traffic around it.
The protesters, under the banner of Anti-Discrimination Students Movement, raised slogans demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and justice for those killed in the recent violence during the quota reform protests, bdnews24 news portal reported.
On the first day of the non-cooperation movement, protesters also gathered at the Science Lab intersection in the capital and raised anti-government slogans.
Protest coordinators said protests and rallies would also be held in Dhaka’s Science Laboratory, Dhanmondi, Mohammadpur, Technical, Mirpur-10, Rampura, Tejgaon, Farmgate, Panthapath, Jatrabari and Uttara.
Unidentified persons set fire to several vehicles at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) on Sunday, according to the Daily Star newspaper.
According to the newspaper, men armed with sticks were seen vandalising private cars, ambulances, motorcycles and buses on the hospital premises, creating fear among patients, their attendants, doctors and staff.
Bangladesh recently witnessed violent clashes between police and mostly student protesters who were demanding the abolition of the controversial quota system that provided 30 per cent reservation in government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 independence war. More than 200 people have been killed in the violence.
The protesters have rejected Hasina’s invitation for talks aimed at stopping the escalating violence and have unified their demands to demand the resignation of the government.
The protest coordinators have called on students of schools, colleges, universities, private universities and madrassas as well as workers, professionals, political activists and other common people to participate in the protests.
On Saturday, while a massive rally of students demanding a one-point agenda passed off without incident in Dhaka, clashes broke out in different parts of the country.
One businessman was killed and at least 20 others were injured in these incidents.
There have been reports of vandalism and arson of police vehicles and government buildings at several places.
In Chittagong, the residences of Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel and Chittagong City Corporation Mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, as well as the office of AL MP Mohammad Mohiuddin Bachchu, were also attacked.
In apparent retaliation, the homes of several leaders of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), including Standing Committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, were targeted.
The BNP and its allies, along with several political, business and cultural groups, have extended their support to the student-led movement, which was launched to demand reforms in reserved quotas in government jobs.
In response, the Awami League has also planned a series of protests on Sunday, including sit-ins and processions at the ward level, raising public anxiety amid a confrontation between the two camps.
Prime Minister Hasina on Saturday offered to hold talks with the coordinators of the anti-discrimination student movement.
“The doors of the Gana Bhavan are open,” she said. “I want to sit with the reservation protesters. I want to hear what they have to say. I don’t want a clash.”
However, the coordinators of the movement rejected the proposal.
Later, Hasina called an emergency meeting with university vice-chancellors and college principals.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Saturday announced the new timing for relaxing the curfew in Dhaka and three other adjoining districts after a meeting with law enforcement officials at the Secretariat.
The exemption has been extended for two additional hours, from 6am to 9pm.