Bangladesh Riots Force Government To Cut Internet Nationwide As Chaos Erupts

Bangladesh has been rocked by weeks of social unrest as thousands of university students protest against inequality, poverty, and the lack of job security in the South Asian country. The unrest worsened this week, forcing the government to shut down the nation’s internet service to prevent further student organizing and unrest. 

Zunaid Ahmed Palak, the country’s junior telecommunications minister, told AFP News that the nationwide shutdown of the country’s mobile internet network began on Thursday. He said the shutdown was to “ensure the security of citizens.”

Around 1245 ET, internet observatory Netblocks wrote in a post on X that Bangladesh “is now in the midst of a near-total national internet shutdown.”

“The new measure follows earlier efforts to throttle social media and restrict mobile data services, and comes amid reports of rising deaths at student protests,” Netblocks said. 

According to Al Jazeera English, the social unrest, which has turned deadly, began at the start of the month with “university students protesting across the country to demand the removal of quotas in government jobs after the High Court reinstated a rule that reserves nearly one-third of posts for the descendants.” 

Here are further details, provided by Al Jazeera, about the quotas system that has sparked so much chaos: 

Following the High Court’s ruling in June, 56 percent of government jobs are now reserved for specific groups, including children and grandchildren of freedom fighters, women, and people from “backward districts.”

Student protesters have clashed with police and members of Bangladesh Chhatra League, a student wing of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s governing Awami League party.

Six people have been killed and hundreds of others injured.

Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center, told Al Jazeera, “Look at who is protesting.” 

“It’s not just a case of grassroots demonstrations led by the poor. These are university students most of whom are above working class … The fact that you have so many students who are so angry speaks to the desperation of finding jobs. They may not be desperately poor, but they still need to find good, stable jobs.”

Shocking footage of the unrest has been uploaded on X: 

This looks dystopian yet real…#Bangladesh#StudentsUnderAttack#StepDownHasina pic.twitter.com/KQjELEWFkb

— Sayed Rouf 🇧🇩🇵🇸 (@SayedRouf4) July 18, 2024

🚨 Bangladeshi police shot an unarmed student in Jaleshwaritala, Bogra. #Bangladesh #SaveBangladeshiStudents #QuotaReform #QuotaReformMovement pic.twitter.com/1KfJHyBDD9

— DOAM (@doamuslims) July 18, 2024

9 roads have been closed off. The protesters have set ablazed in Jatra bari area in DHAKA….#Bangladesh#StudentsUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/bxLxIfkeLI

— Sayed Rouf 🇧🇩🇵🇸 (@SayedRouf4) July 17, 2024

BRAKING NEWS🇧🇩 :

Bangladesh is now on the verge of civil war. The government has deployed its terror force RAB with helicopters. After a while the students might be attacked from the air.#Bangladesh #BangladeshiStudentsareinDanger #bangladesh_quotha_movement #QoutaMovement… pic.twitter.com/s7G8xrzrUV

— ReConstruction (@authorHasan) July 18, 2024

this is what happening in my university rn#SaveBangladeshiStudents #BangladeshiStudentsareinDanger#StudentsUnderAttack #Bangladesh pic.twitter.com/MjimyeN8bh

— ๋࣭ ⭑⚝ (@folkloreussy) July 18, 2024

#Bangladesh continues to remain on the edge as death toll rises to 17 in anti-quota violent clashes that erupted between protesting students & police.

Journalist Hasan Mehedi of Dhaka Times killed in the clashes. #dhaka #Bangladeshstudentprotest pic.twitter.com/R81H12dOzP

— Pooja Mehta (@pooja_news) July 18, 2024

Meanwhile, all those call centers in the country that service US consumers could experience disruptions. 

‘Near-total’ internet shutdown in Bangladesh after unrest: Netblocks

so every 1-800 help number is down?

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 18, 2024

In a recent report by Statista’s Katharina Buchholz, it was noted that countries surrounding Bangladesh, including India and Myanmar, are among the top countries with frequent internet blocks and shutdowns.  

Perhaps SpaceX’s Starlink fixes this… 

*Developing…