Student protesters in Bangladesh have stormed a prison and freed hundreds of inmates as the country was rocked by some of the worst unrest in a decade, with at least 64 killed in the violence.
A communications blackout was imposed across the country, with mobile internet access and social media blocked by the government as student-led protests continued to escalate into violent clashes with police.
As people woke on Friday morning, TV news channels were off air after the state broadcaster’s headquarters in Dhaka was stormed and set alight by protesters, and several news websites were down.
A group of protesters stormed a jail in Narsingdi, a district just north of the capital, and freed its inmates before setting the facility on fire. According to Agence France-Presse, hundreds of inmates were released.
Key government websites, including that of the central bank, the police and the prime minister’s office, also appeared to have been hacked by a group calling itself “THE R3SISTANC3”. A message posted across the prime minister’s office website on Friday called for an end to the killing of students, saying: “It’s not a protest any more. It’s a war now.”
Another message posted on the website read: “The government has shut down the internet to silence us and hide their actions. We need to stay informed about what is happening on the ground.”
The protests began this month on university campuses as students demanded an end to a quota system that reserves 30% of government jobs for family members of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971.
Those protesting have argued that the policy is unfair and discriminatory as young people struggle for jobs during an economic downturn and instead benefits members of the ruling Awami League party, which is led by the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.
Pro-government student groups have been accused of attacking the protesters, and police have routinely fired teargas and rubber bullets into the crowds, leaving thousands injured and dozens killed.
On Friday, all public rallies and gatherings were banned but student groups still took to the streets. The sounds of gunfire and stun grenades could be heard coming from areas close to universities in Dhaka. According to reports, police were seen firing live ammunition to break up demonstrations and protesters accused police of being responsible for a large proportion of the fatalities.
Witnesses said the protests had begun to take on a much broader anti-government tone against Hasina and her party, with slogans calling her an “authoritarian dictator” and demanding her resignation.
Hasina has ruled since 2009 and overseen a vast and severe crackdown on political opponents and critics while corruption has flourished. Critical figures are routinely picked up in “enforced disappearances” by paramilitary forces and tens of thousands of political opponents have been jailed. She won a fifth term in January in an election widely documented as being heavily rigged.
Clashes between heavily armed riot police and protesters, many wielding batons and bricks, have spread across the country, with vehicles set ablaze in the streets and thousands left injured. On Thursday protesters stormed the headquarters of the state broadcaster, Bangladesh Television, and set it on fire. Authorities said the building was safely evacuated.
The Dhaka Times said one of its reporters, Mehedi Hasan, was killed while covering clashes in the capital.
Access to social media was restricted after the telecommunications minister, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, said it had been “weaponised as a tool to spread rumours, lies and disinformation”.
Hasina, 76, ordered that all universities and colleges be shut indefinitely after the clashes. In a speech on Wednesday night, she had condemned the “murder” of students killed in the protests and promised justice, telling students to wait for an upcoming supreme court order on the quota system, but it did little to quell the unrest.
The prime minister was earlier accused of inflaming tensions after she defended the quotas and appeared to refer to protesters as “razakars”, a derogatory slur meaning those who betrayed the country by collaborating with the enemy, Pakistan, during the war of independence.
The quotas that sparked the protests were abolished in 2018 but brought back last month after a court ruling, prompting outrage among students. About 40% of young people in Bangladesh are unemployed as the economy has floundered post-Covid and government jobs are seen as one of the few means of secure employment. Young people say the quotas make it very difficult to get the jobs on merit.
Hasina’s party, which was set up by her father who led the independence fight for Bangladesh, is accused of disproportionately benefiting from the system.
Pierre Prakash, the Asia director of the International Crisis Group, said the protests were a reflection of growing frustration on the streets at the erosion of democracy and the country’s economic distress, which has led to high inflation and rising unemployment.
“The protests reflect deep political and economic tensions in Bangladesh. For several years Bangladesh’s economy has been struggling and youth unemployment is a serious problem,” he said. “With no real alternative at the ballot box, discontented Bangladeshis have few options besides street protests to make their voices heard.”
Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the UN secretary general, said they were following developments in Bangladesh and urged restraint on all sides.