Police report thirteen officers killed during a mass lynching while opposition threatens to take up arms
Authorities cut 4G Internet networks while Supreme Court sees no need to issue an order for police not to shoot to kill
At least 80 people have died, including 13 police officers, and hundreds have been injured since early Sunday morning due to renewed unrest in various parts of Bangladesh, in the context of protests that began early last month against a now suspended system of work quotas and which, after days of relative calm, have gained strength again and now have the Government as a general target.
The BBC’s Bengali affiliate has reported that more than 65 civilians have died — including government opponents and supporters — and 13 police officers have been beaten to death after an attack on a police station in the town of Sirajganj, according to security sources.
In addition to the police officers, five more deaths have been recorded in Sirajganj. Many of the dead had gunshot wounds and in other cases they have been victims of lynchings.
The clashes began in the city of Munshiganj, near the capital, Dhaka, where student movements leading the protests have ended up clashing with supporters of the government party, the Awami League, and its youth wing, the Chhatra League. The newspaper ‘Protom Alo’ has been able to confirm at least two deaths and fifty wounded.
Six Awami League leaders and activists were shot dead at a bus station in Nargsindi and another six people were killed in Feni, according to a provisional count by the Dhaka Tribune of the most violent incidents of the day.
Eight more people were killed in Laxmipur, four in Rangpur, three in Munshiganj, four in Bogra, two in Joypurhat, three in Pabna, three in Sherpur, two in Sylhet, three in Kishoreganj, two in Comilla, one in Cox Bazar and one in Barisal.
Other deaths were confirmed in the town of Magura, 175 kilometres south-east of the capital. One of them was a leader of the government’s youth wing, identified as Mehedi Hasan, according to security sources to the Bangladeshi branch of the British channel BBC. Four other Awami League supporters were also killed in Rangpur, where another hundred people were injured.
