Fatalities And Injuries Surge In Bangladesh Quota Reform Protests

Fatalities in the quota reform protests in Bangladesh have reached at least 39, with 30 journalists and 104 police officers also injured, as reported by AFP.

The protests have resulted in injuries to around 400 students and 30 journalists. Police gunfire accounts for at least two-thirds of the deaths reported so far, according to hospital staff descriptions provided to AFP.

In response to the unrest, the Bangladesh government has indefinitely shut down schools and colleges. Both protesters and police forces have blockaded roads in half of the country's 64 districts.

During an internet and news blackout imposed by the state, police reported that "miscreants" have vandalized and set fire to state broadcaster BTV, as well as government and police buildings.

The crackdown on the media has led to violence against journalists covering the protests. On Thursday, 17-year-old student and reporter Hasan Mehdi died due to police violence.

Despite Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addressing the nation on the now-offline state broadcaster to calm the situation, students have vowed to continue their campaign. They demand an apology and the rollback of the job quota scheme, which reserves more than half of government jobs for specific groups, including children of veterans from the country's 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.

The protests were initially successful in 2018 when students pressured PM Hasina to retract the scheme. However, a Supreme Court ruling to reinstate the quota has reignited peaceful protests, which have escalated into clashes with the student faction of the ruling Awami party, the Bangladesh Chhatra League.