PM Sheikh Hasina urges protestors to de-escalate clashes as furious youth set state TV network ablaze
\n DHAKA
\nBangladeshi students set fire to the country\u2019s state broadcaster on Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina appeared on the network seeking to calm escalating clashes that have killed at least 32 people.
\nHundreds of protesters demanding reform of civil service hiring rules fought back and overwhelmed riot police who had fired at them with rubber bullets, chasing the retreating officers to BTV\u2019s headquarters in the capital Dhaka.
\nThe incensed crowd then set ablaze the network\u2019s reception building and dozens of vehicles parked outside, a BTV official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
\nThe broadcaster said \u201cmany people\u201d were trapped inside as the fire spread but another official from the station later told AFP that they had safely evacuated the building.
\nHasina\u2019s government has ordered schools and universities to close indefinitely as police step up efforts to bring the country\u2019s deteriorating law and order situation under control.
\nThe premier appeared on the broadcaster on Wednesday night to condemn the \u201cmurder\u201d of protesters and vow that those responsible will be punished regardless of their political affiliation.
\nBut violence worsened on the streets despite her appeal for calm as police again attempted to break up demonstrations with rubber bullets and tear gas volleys.
\nAt least 25 people were killed on Thursday in addition to seven killed earlier in the week, according to a tally of casualty figures from hospitals compiled by AFP, with hundreds more wounded. Police weaponry was the cause of at least two-thirds of those deaths, based on descriptions given to AFP by hospital figures.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve got seven dead here,\u201d an official at Uttara Crescent Hospital in the capital Dhaka, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, told AFP.
\n\u201cThe first two were students with rubber bullet injuries. The other five had gunshot injuries.\u201d
\nNearly 1,000 others had been treated at the hospital for injuries sustained during clashes with police, the official said, adding many had rubber bullet wounds.
\nDidar Malekin of the online news outlet Dhaka Times told AFP that Mehedi Hasan, one of his reporters, had been killed while covering clashes in Dhaka.
\nSeveral cities across Bangladesh saw violence throughout the day as riot police marched on protesters who had begun another round of human blockades on roads and highways.
\nHelicopters rescued 60 police officers who were trapped on the roof of a campus building at Canadian University, the scene of some of Dhaka\u2019s fiercest clashes on Thursday, the elite Rapid Action Battalion police force said in a statement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PM Sheikh Hasina urges protestors to de-escalate clashes as furious youth set state TV network ablaze DHAKA Bangladeshi students set fire to the country\u2019s state broadcaster on Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina appeared on the network seeking to calm escalating clashes that have killed at least 32 people. Hundreds of protesters demanding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":419167,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-419144","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n