Dhaka, Jul. 18, (dpa/GNA) – Violence continued to escalate in Bangladesh amid student protests over government job quota reforms, with local media reporting that more than 10 people were killed in clashes on Thursday.

Thousands of protesters clashed with police and ruling party supporters in Dhaka and other parts of the country, torching vehicles, offices, police outposts and targeting state media as they attempted to impose a “complete shutdown” to force their demands to be met, according to reports from across the country.

The Bangladesh daily newspaper Prothom Alo reported that at least 11 people were killed – nine in Dhaka and one each in the districts of Savar and Madaripur.

Police were contacted by dpa but were yet to confirm the casualties.

A number of protesters and police officers were injured in the clashes.

A 50-year-old bystander was shot dead during disorders in the Dhaka’s eastern neighbourhood of Badda, said Rubel Hossain, an official at the nearby Farayezi Hospital.

A police outpost in Dhaka’s Mirpur was set on fire, while the office of the state-run broadcaster Bangladesh Television in Rampura and another public office in Mohakhali were also targeted in the capital.

Train connections between Dhaka and other parts of the country were suspended at around midday (0600 GMT) after demonstrators blocked the tracks in Dhaka. They had not resumed as of 8 pm.

At least six people were killed on Tuesday in the clashes, which also continued on Wednesday as demonstrators called for changes to the job quota system.

The system reserves more than half of civil service posts for specific groups like the wards of the 1971 war heroes, women, people from impoverished districts, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.

Students have been protesting nationwide for the system’s reform since early this month after a court ordered the reinstatement of the quotas, which had been abolished in 2018 in the face of massive student protests.

An appeal court, however, ordered the status quo on the job quotas to continue until early next month, with the protesters asking the government to settle the issue once for all.

On Thursday, the government said it was ready to enter discussions with the protesters. “The government has agreed in principle on quota reforms,” said Anisul Huq, minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.

GNA