5 killed and dozens injured in Bangladesh in violent clashes over government jobs quota

At least five people were reported killed and dozens injured in Bangladesh on July 16 as student protests against a government jobs quota led to violence around the country, media reports said.

At least five people were reported killed and dozens injured in Bangladesh on July 16 as student protests against a government jobs quota led to violence around the country, media reports said.

Student protesters clashed with pro-government student activists and with police, and violence was reported around the capital of Dhaka, the southeastern city of Chattogram and the northern city of Rangpur. At least three of the dead were students, one was a pedestrian and one was not identified, media reports said, citing officials.

Protesters are demanding an end to a quota reserved for family members of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971, which allows them to take up to 30% of government jobs.

They argue the quota is discriminatory, and should be replaced with a merit-based system. They also say it benefits supporters of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whose Awami League party led the independence movement. Ruling party leaders accuse the opposition of backing the protests.

Clashes broke out on July 15 at the country’s leading Dhaka University, with more than 100 students injured, police said. Violence spread overnight to Jahangir Nagar University in Savar, outside Dhaka, and was reported elsewhere around the country on July 16.

Bengali-language Prothom Alo daily reported that one person died in Dhaka and three others, including the pedestrian, in Chattogram. Media reports also said that a 22-year-old protester died in Rangpur. Details of the deaths could not be confirmed immediately.

While job opportunities have expanded in Bangladesh’s private sector, many people prefer government jobs because they are seen as stable and lucrative. Each year, some 3,000 such jobs open up to nearly 400,000 graduates.