Bangladesh imposes strict curfew with ‘shoot-on-sight-order’ following deadly protests

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Police imposed a strict curfew with a “shoot-on-sight” order across Bangladesh as military forces patrolled parts of the capital Saturday after scores were killed and hundreds injured in clashes over the allocation of civil service jobs.

The curfew began at midnight and was relaxed from noon to 2 p.m. for people to run essential errands, and is expected to last until 10 a.m. Sunday, allowing officers to fire on mobs in extreme cases, said lawmaker Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of the ruling Awami League party.

The demonstrations — called for mainly by student groups— started weeks ago to protest a quota system that reserves up to 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971. 

Violence erupted Tuesday, with the Daily Prothom Alo newspaper reporting the death of at least 103 people.

Friday was likely to be the deadliest day so far; Somoy TV reported 43 killed, while an Associated Press reporter saw 23 bodies at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, but it was not immediately clear whether they all died on Friday. On Thursday, 22 others were reported dead as protesting students attempted to “completely shut down” the country.

The United States Embassy in Dhaka said Friday that reports indicated “hundreds to possibly thousands” were injured across Bangladesh. It said the situation was “extremely volatile.”

Bangladeshi authorities haven't shared any official numbers of those killed and injured.

Officials said the curfew was to quell further violence after police and protesters clashed in the streets and at university campuses in Dhaka and other cities across the South Asian country.

Authorities blocked online communications by banning mobile and Internet services.

Several television news channels also went off the air, and the websites of most local newspapers were down.

Meanwhile, some key government websites, including Bangladesh's central bank and the prime minister's office, appeared to have been hacked and defaced.

Local media also reported that some 800 inmates fled from a prison in Narsingdi, a district north of the capital, after protesters stormed the facility and set it on fire Friday.

The chaos highlights cracks in Bangladesh's governance and economy and the frustration of youths who lack good jobs upon graduation. They also represent the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina since she won a fourth consecutive term in office after January's elections, boycotted by the main opposition groups.

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