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.