Bangladesh PM surveys destruction as unrest recedes
The Peninsula
Dhaka: Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wept on Thursday as she surveyed the destruction wrought by days of deadly unrest, as student leaders...
Dhaka: Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wept on Thursday as she surveyed the destruction wrought by days of deadly unrest, as student leaders weighed the future of the protests that sparked the disorder.
Last week's violence killed at least 193 people, including several police officers, according to an AFP count of victims reported by police and hospitals, in one of the biggest upheavals of Hasina's 15-year tenure.
The unrest was precipitated by protests against a public jobs quota scheme that critics say gives preference to allies of Hasina's ruling party.
Thousands of troops are still patrolling cities and a nationwide internet shutdown remains largely in effect, although clashes have subsided since protest leaders announced a temporary halt to new demonstrations.
Hasina, 76, spent the morning surveying destruction in the capital Dhaka, where the commuter rail network connecting the sprawling megacity of 20 million people was shut down after mob attacks.
