Chaos reigns in Bangladesh as internet, trains suspended and offices closed

Bangladesh witnessed a day of carnage on Sunday after protesters demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation clashed with ruling party supporters. Over 93 people were killed in the violence and hundreds were injured as a fresh wave of violence convulsed Bangladesh.

While Prime Minister Hasina ordered a nationwide curfew, suspended mobile internet and declared three days of a national holiday to quell the uprising, the anti-discrimination student movement has said they would take out a "March to Dhaka" on Monday demanding that the PM step down.

What began as a protest against the government's controversial quota system that reserved 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's War of Independence in 1971 has soon mutated into a 'step down Sheikh Hasina' movement.

However, Awami League workers and government officials claim Sunday's protest was triggered by unidentified people and activists of rightwing Islami Shashontantra Andolon who attacked the police stations and boxes, ruling party offices and residences of their leaders and burnt several vehicles.

According to Prime Minister Hasina, those engaging in "sabotage" across the country in the name of protest were not students but terrorists and asked people to suppress them with a firm hand. "I appeal to the countrymen to suppress these terrorists with a firm hand, she said.

She also convened a meeting of the National Committee on Security Affairs - the highest policy-making authority of national security, which was attended by the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, police, RAB, BGB, and other top security officers.

The Army has asked people to cooperate with the curfew, adding that it will play its role as mandated by the constitution and laws in ensuring the security of the people and protection of the important state infrastructures.

However,  a group of former senior military generals Sunday asked the government to withdraw the armed forces from the streets and send them back to barracks."We urge the government to undertake political initiatives to resolve the ongoing crisis. Do not destroy the good standing of our armed forces by keeping them engaged in a disgraceful campaign," said former army chief Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan, who served as the army chief under Prime Minister Hasina's government.

'A point of no return'

Many believe the current protest could spell the end for the Sheikh Hasina government after five decades in power. The way the Hasina government dealt with the protesters has swayed public opinion against her.

"It is time for her to go," Nahid Islam, one of the student leaders who was tortured in custody in recent weeks, said at Shaheed Minar, a national monument in Dhaka where teeming crowds gathered on Saturday. "It is not enough to just oust Sheikh Hasina; the murders, looting and corruption that have taken place in this country must see justice."

Many also fear the government may do what it did during the 2018 uprising against quota reform; track down every protester and punish them.