Here’s what happened when Bangladesh shut internet during deadly unrest

BenarNews staff – Dhaka and Washington
2024.07.24

Here’s what happened when Bangladesh shut internet during deadly unrest

Police trying to hold back a mass of student demonstrators on July 11, 2024.

BenarNews

Deadly clashes in Bangladesh last week highlighted frustration with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year hold on power.

It all began when university students started protesting a June decision by the High Court, which reinstated a divisive 30% quota in civil service jobs for descendants of fighters in the 1971 war for independence from Pakistan.

Resentment was high because the government was failing to provide enough employment opportunities in the country of 170 million people, especially for its burgeoning youth population.

Then, Hasina, on July 15, likened the protesters to collaborators with Pakistan in the 1971 war, which caused the students to erupt in fury -- even more came out on to the streets and the anti-quota movement spread to students nationwide.

Below is a timeline of events that occurred mostly after the Bangladesh government shut down the internet when clashes turned deadly following Hasina’s comments on the protests:

July 15: Agitation intensifies day after Hasina's statements; 300 people injured when protesters, ruling party supporters clash.

July 16: Violent confrontations increase after police sent to quell protests; at least six people killed, hundreds more injured.

July 17: Government slows internet bandwidth to a crawl; Hasina requests patience, vowing upcoming Supreme Court verdict will please students; still, protests continue, now also against deaths during clashes.

July 18: At least 19 more killed as country burns and bleeds; by now, Bangladesh witnessing deadliest unrest in over 10 years; reports emerge of “near-total national internet shutdown.”

Police fire teargas during a clash between anti-quota protesters, police and supporters of the ruling Awami League at the Rampura area in Dhaka, July 18, 2024. [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters]

Smoke rises from vehicles set on fire near the Disaster Management Directorate office during the ongoing clashes over public service jobs quotas in Dhaka, July 18, 2024. [AFP]

July 19:
In violent week, worst day, as at least 67 killed; government imposes curfew with shoot-at-sight order; hackers declare “[N]ot a protest anymore, it’s a war now,” on PM Hasina's website.

Screenshot of the hacked Bangladesh Bank website, 11 a.m. ET, July 19, 2024. [BenarNews]

Demonstrators throw stones as they clash with police during the ongoing anti-quota protest in Dhaka, July 19, 2024. [Abu Sufian Jewel/AFP]

An injured man is treated at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital as violence continues across the country tied to anti-quota protests by students, July 19, 2024. [Sultan Mahmud Mukut/Reuters]

People walk past vehicles burned during unrest in Dhaka, July 19, 2024. [Munir Uz Zaman/AFP]

A burned government building is pictured on July 19, 2024, after agitators set it on fire during civil unrest in Bangladesh. [Munir Uz Zaman/AFP]

July 20: Students defy curfew; another 25 at least killed; death toll crosses 100.

Shahida Begum, aunt of a college student who was killed during the clash between police and anti-quota protesters, mourns at Dhaka Medical College Hospital in Dhaka on July 20, 2024. [Munir Uz Zaman / AFP]

A member of the Bangladesh Army checks bags of women during a curfew imposed in response to student-led protests against government job quotas, in Dhaka, July 20, 2024. [Mohammad Ponir Hossain / Reuters]

Bangladeshi soldiers patrol the streets to disperse anti-quota protesters in Dhaka on July 20, 2024. [Mahmud Zaman Ovi / AFP]

July 21: Supreme Court rules on an appeal; slashes quotas that began protests to 7% from 56%; yet, another 12 killed.

Police in Dhaka frisk commuters during a curfew imposed following days of anti-quota protests throughout Bangladesh, July 21, 2024. [Anik Rahman/AP]

A man carrying a suitcase and other bags talks to police are he remains on a street in Dhaka during a curfew imposed after days of protest throughout Bangladesh, July 21, 2024. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP]

Bangladesh police stand behind a barricade on a Dhaka street during the curfew tied to anti-quota protests, July 21, 2024. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP]

July 22: Curfew stems protests, leads to uneasy calm in Dhaka; internet still off; two succumb to earlier injuries; death toll now 138.

Sanjida Akter (right) waits in front of the mortuary of the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital to receive the corpse of her brother who was fatally shot during a clash in Dhaka three days earlier, July 22, 2024. [BenarNews]

A fire burns as a military vehicle approaches a road block set up by protesters in the Rampura area of Dhaka, July 20, 2024. [BenarNews]

Bangladeshis line up at a gas office to pay bills in Kawranbazar area in Dhaka, July 22, 2024. [BenarNews]

July 23: Top hospital treating at least 200 gunshot victims, it says; partial internet restored; more than 2,000 arrested; many opposition members thrown in jail.

An officer stands at the front of a police van transporting arrested people to a Dhaka court, July 23, 2024. [Abu Sufian Jewel/AFP]

During an internet blackout in Bangladesh, two men read newspapers pasted on a wall in Dhaka, July 23, 2024. [Rajib Dhar/AP]

Bangladesh police inspect a motorcyclist’s bag during a traffic stop in Dhaka on the fourth day of curfew imposed by the government, July 23, 2024. [Rajib Dhar/AP]

July 24: Semblance of normalcy returns; government says schools, colleges to stay shut until security deployed; university students continue protests on social media.