Clashes in Bangladesh leave 12 dead as unrest intensifies

At least a dozen people were killed and dozens more injured in clashes in Bangladesh on August 4, 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 unrest, which prompted the government to shut down internet services, is the biggest test for Hasina since deadly protests erupted when she won a fourth straight term in January elections boycotted by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Critics, along with human rights groups, have accused Hasina’s government of using excessive force to suppress the movement, a charge denied by Hasina and her ministers.

Demonstrators blocked major highways on August 4 as student protesters launched a non-cooperation campaign demanding the government's resignation, leading to nationwide violence.

“Those who are protesting on the streets right now are not students, but terrorists who are out to destabilize the nation,” Hasina said after a national security panel meeting. “I appeal to our countrymen to suppress these terrorists with a strong hand.”

In the central district of Munsiganj, two construction workers were killed on their way to work, and 30 people were injured during a three-way clash involving protesters, police, and ruling party activists. “They were brought dead to the hospital with bullet wounds,” said Abu Hena Mohammad Jamal, the superintendent of the district hospital. Police denied firing bullets, attributing the violence to detonated improvised explosives.

In the northeastern district of Pabna, at least three people were killed and 50 injured during a clash between protesters and activists of Hasina's ruling Awami League, witnesses reported. Violence in the northern district of Bogura resulted in two more deaths, while five more fatalities were reported across four other districts, according to hospital officials.

Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen condemned the vandalism of a medical college hospital in Dhaka. “An attack on a hospital is unacceptable,” he stated. “Everyone should refrain from this.”

For the second time during recent protests, the government shut down high-speed internet services, mobile operators confirmed. Social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp were also inaccessible, even via broadband connections.

Last month, at least 150 people were killed, thousands injured, and about 10,000 arrested in violence sparked by demonstrations led by student groups protesting against government job quotas. The protests paused after the Supreme Court scrapped most quotas, but students returned to the streets in sporadic protests last week, demanding justice for the families of those killed.