In Bangladesh, violent protests in which 28 people were killed led to internet and mobile outages

NEW DELHI: Internet and mobile phone services were shut down in Bangladesh on Friday after days of violent protests against the allocation of government jobs. At least 28 people have been killed this week, according to local media reports.

The protests began weeks ago and escalated dramatically on Monday. They are the largest since the election of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in January, which was boycotted by the main opposition parties for the fourth consecutive time.

The internet shutdown came after violence escalated on Thursday as students attempted to impose a “complete shutdown” in the country.

As the death toll mounted, protesters attacked the headquarters of Bangladesh state television, breaking through a main gate and setting fire to vehicles and the reception area, a news producer and an Associated Press reporter said by telephone, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

“I was able to save myself by jumping over the wall, but some of my colleagues got stuck inside. The attackers entered the building and set fire to the furniture,” the producer said by phone.

He said the station continued to broadcast, although some Dhaka residents said they were not receiving a signal from the station.

At least 22 people were killed on Thursday, a local television station reported. Six people had already died this week. Authorities could not be immediately reached to confirm the death toll.

On Friday morning, internet services and mobile data appeared to have failed in the capital Dhaka, and social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp could not be loaded.

Student protesters announced they would also demand a closure on Friday and called on mosques across the country to hold memorial prayers for those killed.

The protesters are demanding an end to the quota system that reserves up to 30 percent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence.

They argue that the system is discriminatory and favors supporters of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whose Awami League party led the independence movement, and they want to replace it with a merit-based system.

Hasina’s party has accused opposition parties of fomenting the violence by raiding the headquarters of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and arresting activists from the party’s student wing. The BNP is expected to hold demonstrations across the country in support of student activists protesting against the quota system.

Hasina’s government had already suspended the employment quotas in 2018 following mass protests by students, but last month Bangladesh’s Supreme Court overturned that decision and reinstated the quotas after relatives of the 1971 veterans filed petitions that sparked the recent demonstrations.

The Supreme Court has stayed the ruling pending an appeal and said in a statement that it would reconsider the matter on Sunday.

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Alam reported from Dhaka.