Nearly 100 dead, more injured in Bangladesh protests

DHAKA, Bangladesh

At least 90 people died Sunday after clashes between protesters, security forces, and supporters of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government, in one of the deadliest days in Bangladesh since anti-government demonstrations were sparked last month. 

Protesters attacked the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University hospital in Dhaka

The Interior Ministry declared an indefinite nationwide curfew from 6 p.m. local time.

A student-led protest movement began last month as a call to eliminate a controversial quota system for public sector job recruitment, which the Bangladesh Supreme Court has since scaled back. However, the protests have since transformed into a broader anti-government movement.

Protesters returned to the streets this week in huge numbers, in what has been characterized as "non-cooperation" movement aimed at paralyzing the government and demanding the prime minister's resignation.

Large groups of protesters packed into Dhaka's central Shahbagh Square, with street battles erupting at multiple locations in the capital as well as in other cities, police said.

Protest organizers had urged people not to pay taxes and utility bills and not show up for work in a show of "non-cooperation" with the government.

Sunday is a working day in Bangladesh but many shops and banks in Dhaka stayed closed.

At one stage, thousands of protesters attacked a major public hospital in Dhaka's Shahbagh area, torching several vehicles, the police said.

A police officer, who asked not to be named, told the French AFP news agency that "the whole city has turned into a battleground."

In the capital's Uttara neighborhood, police fired teargas to disperse hundreds of protesters who blocked a major highway.

At least 91 people were killed across the country, police and doctors said.

There are "at least 14 policemen" among those killed and 300 other officers wounded, police spokesman Kamrul Ahsan said.

Also Sunday, the government announced a holiday from Monday to Wednesday.

Courts were to be closed indefinitely. Mobile internet service was cut off, and Facebook and messaging apps, including WhatsApp, were inaccessible.

Hasina has accused the protesters of carrying out "sabotage."

The United Nations' human rights chief Volker Turk said Sunday that the "shocking violence" in the South Asian country must stop. 

He also urged the government to stop targeting peaceful protesters.

"I appeal urgently to the political leadership and to the security forces to abide by their obligations to protect the right to life, and the freedom of peaceful assembly and expression," Turk said.

 "The government must cease targeting those participating peacefully in the protest movement, immediately release those arbitrarily detained, restore full Internet access, and create conditions for meaningful dialogue," the UN official added.