Bangladesh protesters set state TV HQ ablaze as death toll mounts, internet cut
DHAKA: Bangladeshi students set fire to the country’s state broadcaster on Thursday (Jul 18) as protests against civil service hiring rules escalated, with the death toll mounting to at least 32 and monitors saying a “near-total” internet blackout had been imposed.
Police fired with rubber bullets at hundreds of protesters, who fought back and chased retreating officers to the headquarters of Bangladesh Television (BTV) in the capital Dhaka.
Demonstrators set ablaze the network’s reception building and dozens of vehicles parked outside, with the broadcaster saying in a Facebook post that “many people” were trapped inside, although a station executive later told AFP they had safely evacuated the building.
A day earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina appeared on the network seeking to calm the escalating clashes.
“Our first demand is that the prime minister must apologise to us,” protester Bidisha Rimjhim, 18, told AFP.
“Secondly, justice must be ensured for our killed brothers,” she added.
