At least 32 people were killed and over 2,500 injured during student-led protests demanding reforms to the quota system for government jobs with University students in the capital Dhaka and other cities staging rallies for weeks, opposing the reservation system in public sector jobs, which includes quotas for relatives of 1971 war heroes.
The protests erupted last month after the Bangladesh High Court reinstated the quota system, reversing a 2018 decision by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's administration to abolish it. The Supreme Court has since stayed the High Court's order pending a government appeal, with a hearing scheduled for August 7.
Tensions intensified when Sheikh Hasina declined to meet the students' demands, citing ongoing court proceedings.
This week, violence erupted between anti-quota protesters and members of Hasina's Awami League student wing.
Police responded with rubber bullets, tear gas, and noise grenades, but the measures failed to quell the unrest.
In response to the violence, authorities have closed the metro rail system in the capital and suspended railway services to and from Dhaka since Thursday afternoon.
The government has also ordered the shutdown of mobile internet services in several regions and indefinitely closed schools and universities amid the unrest.