Bangladesh protests resume after government ignores ultimatum

DHAKA: Bangladeshi students held scattered street protests on Monday after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government ignored an ultimatum to release their leaders and apologise for those killed in deadly unrest.

Student rallies against civil service job quotas this month sparked days of violence that killed at least 205 people including several police officers, according to an AFP count of police and hospital data.

The clashes were some of the worst of Hasina’s 15-year tenure but her government has since largely restored order by deploying troops, imposing a curfew and shutting down the internet nationwide.

At least half a dozen leaders of Students Against Discrimination, the group that organised the initial protests, are among thousands since taken into police custody.

“The government is continuing to show complete and utter insensitivity to our movement,” Abdul Kader, one of the group’s coordinators, said in a statement.

“We are requesting all citizens of Bangladesh to show solidarity with our demands and join in our movement.”