Bangladesh Internet Shut Down as Protests Continue, With 39 Reportedly Dead

Bangladesh is suffering a nationwide internet shutdown as students armed with sticks and hurling stones clash with police in protests against the government that reports said have left at least 39 people dead.

Network data showed an internet blackout that first began Thursday, monitoring service NetBlocks said on X. The outage isn’t related to global internet issues affecting banks, airlines and other industries that began Thursday in the US with disruptions linked to Microsoft Corp. services.

In Bangladesh, student protesters angered by the government’s job quota policy attempted to shut down transport networks and businesses after authorities closed all universities.

AFP reported that 39 people have been killed in the clashes so far and the police in the capital Dhaka have banned all public rallies. The government hasn’t commented on reported death toll or the outages.

The protests pose a challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who extended her grip on power for a fourth straight term in elections this year. If the demonstrations continue, they could further slow the economy at a time when Bangladesh is seeking funds from creditors and the International Monetary Fund to bolster dwindling foreign-exchange reserves.

The local police said the protesters have set fire to several government buildings including the state broadcaster, the national disaster management agency and a toll plaza. Hackers defaced the official Bangladesh police website with messages describing the protest as “a war for justice, for freedom, and for our future.”

The US, the biggest buyer of Bangladesh’s exports and a vocal critic of Hasina’s government, condemned the violence.

“We need to make sure that any kind of freedom of expression is happening safely and people are free from violence,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters in Washington on Thursday. “That’s something we’re continuing to pay close attention to.”

The students’ frustrations have centered on a policy that sets aside 30% of government job openings for family members of veterans from the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, which critics say has been abused. The anger stems also from persistently high youth unemployment that stands at about 40%, according to the latest census.

Hasina has sought to reassure the students, telling them to have faith in the courts while a case against the quota system is being deliberated. But she has also vowed to come down hard on those responsible for the violence, saying in a televised address on Wednesday that a judicial committee will investigate the turmoil.

The Associated Press said the country’s Supreme Court will take up the jobs quota case on Sunday. The court had initially suspended a ruling by a lower court that reinstated the quota system, triggering the protests last month.

Protesters say the quota system has excluded new job seekers in favor of supporters of Hasina, whose party led the movement to separate from Pakistan. They want the system to be replaced with a merit-based one.

Government jobs are highly sought after in Bangladesh and have taken on greater importance as the economy struggles to rebound after the pandemic and years of strong growth. The largely student-driven protests turned violent earlier this week and the Bangladesh’s main opposition party has joined in on the demonstrations.