Curfew tightened as fresh violence leaves dozens dead in Bangladesh

Authorities in Bangladesh tightened a nationwide curfew after dozens of people, including at least 13 police officers, were killed in a wave of violence on Sunday.

The clashes came a day after protesters called for nationwide "civil disobedience" to demand the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government.

"The curfew will remain effective until further direction from 6 pm (1200 GMT) at all cities, divisional and district headquarters, municipal areas, industrial zones and towns across Bangladesh," an order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

The government first imposed a curfew on July 19, as student-led protests against government job quotas turned deadly. A government crackdown quelled the violence and the curfew had been relaxed in recent days.

But the eruption of unrest at the weekend led to the new curfew order on Sunday, as well as the declaration of a three-day public holiday from Monday.

The Daily Star newspaper reported at least 57 people were killed in clashes across the country among anti-government protesters, police and supporters of Hasina's Awami League party.

Another newspaper, the Prothom Alo, put the death toll at 70.

The figures could not be independently verified by dpa. The dailies reported that numerous others were injured.

At least 13 police officers were killed when protesters attacked a police station in northern Sirajganj district on Sunday.

Dhaka's police headquarter said in a press statement that a "terrorist attack" was carried out on the Enayetpur Police Station, leaving 13 officers dead.

In the eastern Narsingdhi district near Dhaka, six senior members of the ruling Awami League party were beaten to death in a clash near the Madhavadhi Municipal Building, said police officer Shahidul Islam Shohag.

Four people were killed during the clashes in various neighbourhoods in the capital Dhaka, police officer Bachhu Mia said while at the state-run Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

A local leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party's (BNP) student wing in the south-western district of Magura was shot dead during a clash with police, local BNP leader Mizanur Rahman said.

He said more than 30 people were injured in the fighting in Magura, located nearly 200 kilometres south-west of Dhaka.

After days of relative calm, the violence flared anew after Saturday's call to civil disobedience by student leaders.

The government had given in to the students' demands to reform an unpopular job quota system, after the protests in mid-July left more than 200 people dead.

Student protesters have accused law enforcement of using indiscriminate violence against them and are now demanding accountability.

The protesters are asking the government to ensure justice for the victims of police atrocities, a lifting of the curfew and the reopening of educational institutions.

But on Saturday they went further, demanding the government's resignation and launching the civil disobedience call.

Protest organizers told people not to pay taxes and utility bills and to keep offices, factories and public transport shuttered.

In response to the call, thousands of stick-wielding protesters took to the streets in Dhaka and other parts of the country.

An estimated 5,000 protesters gathered at central Shahbagh crossing near Dhaka University, where they clashed with supporters of the ruling party in the morning, a witness said.

The protesters attacked a nearby hospital, set fire to vehicles parked at the hospital and to the office of a local city councillor.

Most businesses and public offices were shut and few vehicles were about on the first day of the civil disobedience. Police in riot gear and troops from the paramilitary Border Guard were seen deployed at many strategic points.

Meanwhile, the authorities asked telecom operators to suspend social media platforms such as Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram, the daily Prothom Alo reported.

On Sunday afternoon, the Anti-discrimination Student Movement announced fresh nationwide actions for Monday.

Nahid Islam, one of the movement's coordinators, in a press statement said that the rallies by workers to be held in Dhaka on Monday will be followed by a "Long March to Dhaka" by protesters from different parts of the country.

State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ali Arafat accused the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and recently banned rightwing Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Party for engaging the students in "terrorist activities."

"Law will take its own course if anyone is engaged in terrorism," he said, adding that the people in general do not support the acts of sabotage.