The death toll during clashes in Bangladesh has risen to 19, according to updated data, more than 2.5 thousand people were injured.
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The death toll may increase as many of the wounded are in critical condition. Among the dead are journalists, including 28-year-old staff reporter for the Dhaka Times online news portal Mehedi Hassan.
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At the same time, the AFP agency, citing data from doctors, reported that the number of victims of the unrest had increased to 32.
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Protests against a quota system for government jobs have been ongoing in Bangladesh for several weeks and intensified this week after violence broke out on the Dhaka University campus on Monday between protesters, police and pro-government student activists. Six people were killed in Bangladesh’s capital on Tuesday, prompting the government to demand the closure of universities across the country and police to raid the headquarters of the main opposition party.
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Protesters are demanding an end to the quota system, which reserves up to 30% of government jobs for family members of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 War of Independence. They say the system is discriminatory and benefits supporters of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whose Awami League party led the independence movement, and want to replace the system.
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Bangladesh’s government suspended the quotas after mass student protests in 2018, but last month the country’s High Court overturned the decision and reinstated the quotas after relatives of 1971 veterans filed petitions, sparking new demonstrations. The Supreme Court has since stayed the High Court’s decision and is expected to rule on August 7. The government also appealed the High Court’s decision.
