Bangladesh - July 18, 2024

A High Security Alert has been issued for the whole of Bangladesh, as violent clashes between students and police continue.

The capital Dhaka is in the midst of a near-total internet blackout, with phone lines also down.

On Thursday evening, several thousand protestors stormed the state broadcaster BTV, vandalising furniture, smashing windows and lights and setting parts of it on fire.

Bangladesh's information minister told the BBC that broadcasts had been stopped and most employees had left the building in the capital.

A post on BTV's official Facebook page had earlier warned many were trapped inside the building, and appealed for help from the fire service to put the blaze out.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina appeared on the network on Wednesday night, appealing for calm after days of violent protests which have left at least 19 people dead, possibly many more, and hundreds injured.

Students have been holding rallies demanding change to a system which reserves a third of public sector jobs for the relatives of veterans of the country’s war for independence from Pakistan in 1971.

The students are arguing that the system is discriminatory, asking for recruitment based on merit.

The government has been trying to quell the protests, on Thursday switching off the country's mobile internet in an attempt to slow the students.

Video Location: Bangladesh,Dhaka
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