2 killed, 30 injured as protesters and ruling party supporters clash in Bangladesh

DHAKA: At least two people were killed and 30 others injured Sunday in clashes between protestors and the ruling Awami League supporters on the outskirts of Dhaka as thousands of demonstrators gathered in Bangladesh's capital demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation.

The clashes broke out this morning when protesters attending a non-cooperation programme to demand the government's resignation faced opposition from the supporters of the Awami League, Chhatra League, and Jubo League activists.

“At least two people have been killed and 30 others injured in a clash between protestors and Awami League men in Munshiganj,” the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

Several cocktail explosions occurred during the incident, the paper said, adding that the identity of the deceased could not be known immediately.

Meanwhile, hundreds of students and professionals gathered at Dhaka’s Shahbagh, blocking traffic on all sides.

The protesters under the banner of the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement chanted slogans calling for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation and justice for those killed in the recent violence surrounding the quota reform protests, Bdnews24 news portal reported.

Protesters also gathered at the Science Lab intersection of the capital on the first day of the non-cooperation movement. They chanted anti-government slogans.

Protest coordinators said that there will also be protests and rallies at Dhaka’s Science Laboratory, Dhanmondi, Mohammadpur, Technical, Mirpur-10, Rampura, Tejgaon, Farmgate, Panthapath, Jatrabari, and Uttara.

According to the Daily Star newspaper, several vehicles at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) were torched on Sunday by unidentified people.

People carrying sticks were seen vandalising private cars, ambulances, motorcycles, and buses on the hospital premises, triggering fear among the patients, their attendants, doctors and staff, the paper said.

Bangladesh recently witnessed violent clashes between the police and mostly student protesters demanding an end to a controversial quota system that reserved 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's War of Independence in 1971. Over 200 people have been killed in the violence.

Protesters have dismissed Hasina’s invitation for dialogue aimed at quelling escalating violence and consolidated their demands into a unified call for the government’s resignation.

Protest coordinators have called on students from schools, colleges, universities, private universities, and madrasas, as well as workers, professionals, political activists and other public members to participate in the protests.

On Saturday, while a large students’ rally in Dhaka to announce their demand for a single-point agenda proceeded without incident, clashes erupted in various other parts of the country.

A trader was killed and at least 20 others were injured in these incidents.

There have been reports of vandalism and arson attacks on police vehicles and government buildings in multiple locations.

In Chattogram, the residences of Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel and Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, as well as the office of AL MP Md Mohiuddin Bachchu were attacked.

In an apparent retaliation, the homes of several Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders, including Standing Committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, were targeted.

The BNP and its allies, along with numerous political, professional, and cultural groups have thrown their support behind the student-led movement that had been launched to demand reforms to quotas reserved for government jobs.

In response, the Awami League has also planned a series of demonstrations on Sunday, including ward-level sit-ins and processions, heightening public concern amid the face-off between the two camps.

Prime Minister Hasina offered to sit for talks on Saturday with the coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.

“The doors of the Ganabhaban are open,” she said. “I want to sit with the quota protesters. I want to hear what they have to say. I do not want clashes.”

However, the movement's coordinators rejected the proposal.

Later, Hasina called an emergency meeting with university vice-chancellors and college principals.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan following a meeting with law enforcement officials at the Secretariat on Saturday announced a new timing easing the curfew in Dhaka and three other adjacent districts.

The relaxation has been extended by two additional hours, from 6 am to 9 pm.