Despite curfew, deaths mount in Bangladesh student protests over government jobs quota

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00:00An injured protester is rushed to hospital here in Dhaka as clashes between student protesters

00:06and police continue, despite a ban on public rallies.

00:11The unrest has left dozens dead and hundreds wounded, although the exact toll is hard to

00:15assess partly due to an almost entire communications shutdown.

00:19Due to the internet shutdown, our app does not work, also we are appalled as different

00:28places have ongoing clashes and we cannot go there.

00:36Authorities had severed some mobile telephone services in an attempt to calm the unrest.

00:40Schools and universities across the country have also been closed until further notice.

00:46The demonstrations broke out over student anger against a quota system for government

00:50jobs, in which 30% of roles are reserved for descendants of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's

00:551971 war of independence.

01:00Protesters want an end to this quota system.

01:02They say it's discriminatory and benefits supporters of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,

01:06whose Awami League party led the independence movement.

01:09Instead, they want a system that's based on merit.

01:12According to Amnesty International, there's evidence that security forces have used unlawful

01:17force against students.

01:20The EU said it was deeply concerned by the violence and called for a peaceful resolution,

01:24quote, underpinned by the rule of law and democratic freedoms as quickly as possible.

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