Death Toll from Protests in Bangladesh Rises to 33

DHAKA: At least 33 more victims were killed on Thursday in Bangladesh when police opened fire on students protesting public sector job quota reforms in Dhaka and several other locations across the country.

According to Anadolu Agency, 17 of the victims, mostly students including minors, were killed when police and members of the ruling Awami League’s student wing attacked the protesters.

At least 16 new deaths were reported in Dhaka, two in Narsingdi District, two in the port city of Chattogram, and one in Madaripur District, according to the local newspaper Prothom Alo.

Another victim was killed after being caught in the clash between protesters and police early in the morning in the Jatrabari area of Dhaka, while two more, including a journalist, were killed in Dhaka.

The death toll has risen to 26 since the protests turned violent last Tuesday.

Bangladesh Television (BTV), which is state-operated, reported that its building was set on fire late Thursday.

Thousands of students have been demonstrating since July 1 after the court reinstated the quota system for government jobs, which had been abolished in 2018.

The system allocates 56 percent of public sector positions to specific demographics and classes, including 30 percent for the descendants of fighters in the 1971 independence war against Pakistan.

This has sparked anger among students facing unemployment, with nearly 32 million young people in Bangladesh neither working nor studying.