Police in Bangladesh have killed 19 student protesters as they tried to force a "complete shutdown" of the nation, following days of violent clashes during rallies over a system for assigning government jobs.
According to Dhaka-based leading newspaper Prothom Alo, which has a strong network of correspondents around the nation, by late Thursday night, they had received reports of 19 dead in Dhaka and elsewhere as a result of the ongoing violence.
The country's major English-language newspaper, the Daily Star, also claimed 19 deaths.
The new death toll brings the total to 25, up from six on Tuesday. According to local newspapers, hundreds more people were hurt on Thursday.
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According to Prothom Alo, at least six people were killed in Dhaka's Uttara neighborhood during the most recent skirmishes between demonstrators, security agents, and governing party supporters.
Thirteen others, including an online portal journalist based in Dhaka, were killed in various parts of the city and internationally.
The head office of the country's state-run Bangladesh Television station was stormed by demonstrators who smashed the front gate and set fire to the reception and truck, according to a news producer and a reporter who spoke with The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity due to fear of violence.
He stated that the channel continued to transmit, while several Dhaka residents reported no signal from the broadcaster at their homes.
Students have been protesting for weeks against a quota system for government employment that they claim favors governing party loyalists. Still, the rallies have increased since Monday, when violence broke out between protestors, police, and pro-government student activists on Dhaka University's campus.
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