ALBAWABA - According to an AFP tally, at least 174 have been killed, including several police officers, in addition to the arrest of 2,500 people following the nationwide employment quotas protests.
A curfew was enforced, and soldiers were deployed throughout the country, while a nationwide internet outage severely limited the flow of information, disrupting many people's everyday lives.
On Sunday, the Supreme Court reduced the amount of reserved positions for specified groups, including the descendants of "freedom fighters" from Bangladesh's 1971 liberation war with Pakistan.
The student group organizing the protests halted their rallies for 48 hours on Monday, with the leader stating that they did not want reform "at the expense of so much blood".
Friday was likely the bloodiest day so far; Somoy TV claimed 43 deaths, and an Associated Press reporter spotted 23 bodies at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, but it was unclear whether they all perished on Friday.
On Thursday, 22 people were killed as protesting students sought to "completely shut down" the country.
The Supreme Court was scheduled to rule next month on the validity of a recently reintroduced plan that reserves more than half of government posts for chosen candidates, but it moved forward with its decision as public unrest erupted.
The head of Students Against Discrimination, the major organization behind the protests, told AFP that he feared for his life after being kidnapped and abused. The group also reported that at least four of its leaders were missing and requested that authorities "return" them by the evening.
With over 18 million young people in Bangladesh out of employment, according to official data, the June restoration of the quota plan, which had been suspended since 2018, greatly offended graduates facing an urgent job crisis.
With demonstrations raging around the nation, the Supreme Court on Sunday reduced the amount of reserved employment from 56% to 7%, mostly for the children and grandchildren of "freedom fighters" from the 1971 conflict.
