Bangladeshi students set fire to the country’s state broadcaster on Thursday as protests against civil service hiring rules escalated, with the death toll mounting to at least 39 and authorities imposing what one monitor called a “near-total” internet blackout.
Police fired rubber bullets at hundreds of protesters, who fought back and chased retreating officers to the headquarters of Bangladesh Television (BTV) in the capital Dhaka.
Demonstrators set ablaze the broadcaster’s reception building and dozens of vehicles parked outside. A station executive later told AFP that staff had safely evacuated the building.
A day earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave a national address on the network seeking to calm the escalating clashes.
“Our first demand is that the prime minister must apologise to us,” protester Bidisha Rimjhim, 18, told AFP.
