Bangladesh shuts internet as 90 killed in protests

Thirteen police officers were killed on Sunday when thousands of people attacked a police station in the district of Sirajganj, police said.

Both police and some supporters of the governing party were seen shooting at anti-government protesters with live ammunition. Police also used tear gas and rubber bullets.

Mobile operators received orders from the government to shut off their 4G services on Monday, reports said.

The country is “again in the midst of a near-total national internet shutdown after earlier social media and mobile cuts”, said NetBlocks, a watchdog that monitors internet freedom.

Internet shutdowns are a familiar move for authoritarian governments to control the flow of information and suppress dissent. In 2023, there were 283 government-ordered internet outages across 39 countries – up from 202 shutdowns in 2018 – according to Access Now, a non-government organisation that tracks digital censorship.

On 18 July, the Bangladeshi government had also switched off the country’s mobile internet in an attempt to quell the protests. Broadband connectivity was restored a week later, while mobile internet services came back online days after.

But neither the internet blackout nor an indefinite nationwide curfew imposed on Sunday have hindered the protesters across Bangladesh.

On Monday, thousands of protesters started marching in Uttara, a suburb of Dhaka, chanting and demanding Ms Hasina’s resignation – under the watchful eye of army personnel and police officers who have been stationed across various points in the capital.

Amid calls for her resignation, Ms Hasina sounded defiant. Speaking after a meeting with security chiefs on Monday, she said the protesters were “not students but terrorists who are out to destabilise the nation”.

On Sunday, Law and Justice Minister Anisul Huq told the BBC’s Newshour programme that authorities were showing “restraint”.

“If we had not shown restraint, there would have been a bloodbath. I guess our patience has limits,” he added.