At least five demonstrators have been killed in Bangladesh during violent clashes between rival student groups over quotas for coveted government jobs, according to police officials. The unrest has led to the deployment of thousands of riot police patrolling university campuses across the country in an effort to prevent further violence.
In Rangpur, northwestern Bangladesh, police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators. “We had to use rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the unruly students who were hurling stones at us,” said Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mohammad Moniruzzaman. He added, “We heard a protesting student died after he was taken to the hospital. It was not immediately clear how he died.”
The protests, which erupted over the quota system reserved for government jobs, have seen students demanding an end to the 30 percent quota reserved for family members of veterans from Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence.
At Jahangir Nagar University in Savar, near the capital Dhaka, students accused the Bangladesh Chhatra League, a student wing of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party, of attacking their “peaceful protests.”
Local media reports suggest that police and governing party-backed student groups have clashed with protesters, leading to widespread injuries. Tens of thousands of students have joined the nationwide protests, with over 100 people injured on Monday. Clashes have also occurred in Dhaka, as students blocked major highways and rail links.
Currently, 56 percent of government jobs in Bangladesh are reserved for various quotas, including 10 percent for women, 10 percent for people from underdeveloped districts, 5 percent for Indigenous communities, and 1 percent for people with disabilities.
The ongoing protests reflect growing frustration among students over job opportunities and perceived injustices in the allocation of government positions. The government has yet to respond to the demands of the protesters.