19 more persons dead in Bangladesh protests as Students attempt to impose total shutdown

Police and government supporters clashed Thursday with student activists attempting to shut down transportation across Bangladesh as part of dayslong protests over the allocation of government jobs.

Media reported 19 persons were killed in the died in the protests.

The fresh casualties on Thursday raised the total number of people killed to 25 since Monday, when violence erupted at the capital’s famed Dhaka University.

Protesters clashed with pro-government student organisations and police, and the violence extended to neighboring cities.

Six people were reported killed, with hundreds more injured on Tuesday.

The protesters are demanding an end to 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.

They argue the system is discriminatory and benefits supporters of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whose Awami League party led the independence movement, and they want it replaced with a merit-based system.

Protesters attacked the state-run Bangladesh Television headquarters, bursting through a front gate and setting fire to vehicles and the reception area.

The violence has continued despite a pending court ruling on the validity of the quota system.

Hasina and Law Minister Anisul Huq urged demonstrators to wait for the court ruling, with Hasina stating that she hopes the verdict will not disappoint them. Huq indicated on Thursday that he is eager to meet with demonstrators to discuss their demands.

Following the first deaths in this week’s violence on Tuesday, the government ordered universities across the country to close in an attempt to suppress student protest, and police stormed the main opposition party’s offices.