Violent Clashes in Dhaka: 13 Killed Amid Student Protests

Thirteen people were killed in Dhaka as students clashed with armed police, protesting against a policy that allocates quotas for government jobs. Authorities cut mobile internet services to quell unrest, resulting in at least 19 deaths this week. Protests are fueled by high youth unemployment and demand ending job quotas for war veterans' families.

Thirteen people were killed on Thursday in Dhaka as thousands of students armed with sticks and rocks clashed with armed police. This marks the worst day of violence so far in the ongoing protests in Bangladesh against a government job allocation quota policy.

The fatalities included a bus driver, a rickshaw-puller, and three students, according to officials. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters, who responded by torching vehicles and police posts. Hundreds were injured in the nationwide agitation, the largest since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's re-election earlier this year.

The protests are driven by high youth unemployment, with nearly a fifth of the country's 170 million population out of work or education. Protesters demand the state end its practice of reserving 30% of government jobs for the families of those who fought in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. Despite the government's willingness to hold talks, the demonstrators have refused, citing ongoing police violence.