Bangladesh students reject PM olive branch

DHAKA

Anti-quota protesters clash with the police in Dhaka on July 18, 2024.

Bangladeshi students pressed on Thursday with nationwide protests against civil service hiring rules, rebuffing an olive branch from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who pledged justice for nine killed in the demonstrations.

Hasina's government has ordered schools and universities to close indefinitely and stepped up efforts to contain weeks of rallies demanding equal access to public sector jobs.

Riot police again fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds of protesters on Thursday as the government ordered the shutdown of mobile internet networks to quell demonstrations.

Hasina condemned the "murder" of protesters in a televised address to the nation and vowed that those responsible will be punished regardless of their political affiliation.

But Students Against Discrimination, the main group behind this month's rallies, dismissed her words as insincere and urged supporters to press on.

"It did not reflect the murders and mayhem carried out by her party activists," Asif Mahmud, one of the coordinators of the protests, told AFP.

Fresh clashes broke out in several cities across Bangladesh throughout the day as riot police marched on protesters, who began another round of human blockades on roads and highways.

Police injured dozens of students by firing rubber bullets and tear gas canisters at a crowd of more than 1,000 people gathered at Bangladesh's top private university in the capital Dhaka.