Authorities in Bangladesh have imposed a nationwide curfew after further rioting in the capital Dhaka left an additional 35 people dead.
Days of violence have been sparked by students’ calls for the government to axe a rule reserving scores of public jobs for the families of veterans of the country’s independence war in 1971.
The prime minister’s office announced the curfew after an attack on the Narsingdi prison on Friday saw hundreds of inmates released.
Government Press Secretary Naeemul Islam Khan said the army would be deployed to the streets in a bid to restore order.
The government has decided to impose a curfew and deploy the military in aid of the civilian authorities,” he said in a statement.
Some 100 people have now died since violence broke out – although the exact toll is difficult to assess due in part to an almost complete communications shutdown, with mobile internet and telephone lines reportedly down.
Bus and train services have reportedly also been halted, while photos from Dhaka show large numbers of police in riot gear on the streets.
Schools and universities across Bangladesh have also been shut until further notice.
But this has done little to stop the protesters, who vowed to continue with their own “Complete Shutdown”, which has seen them blockade roads across the city.
On Friday, students chanting “merit, merit” and “we won’t let the blood that has been shed of our brothers go in vain” were joined by some parents outside Dhaka University.
The students are arguing that the quota system is discriminatory, and are asking for recruitment based on merit. Critics say the system unfairly benefits the families of pro-government groups who support Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who won her fourth straight election in January.
