Reports say Bangladesh arrest total passes 2,500

The number of arrests in days of violence in Bangladesh passed the 2,500 mark, as per an AFP news agency tally, after protests over employment quotas sparked widespread unrest.

Police officials in Dhaka, Chittagong and other locations gave further details of detentions that brought the total held to 2,580 on Tuesday.

At least 174 people have died, including several police officers, according to a separate count of victims reported by police and hospitals.

What began as demonstrations against politicised admission quotas for sought-after government jobs snowballed last week into some of the worst unrest of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's tenure.

A curfew was imposed and soldiers deployed across the South Asian country, and a nationwide internet blackout drastically restricted the flow of information, upending daily life for many.

On Sunday, the Supreme Court pared back the number of reserved jobs for specific groups, including the descendants of "freedom fighters" from Bangladesh's 1971 independence war.

The student group leading the demonstrations suspended its protests Monday for 48 hours, with its leader saying they had not wanted reform "at the expense of so much blood".

The restrictions remained in place Tuesday after the army chief said the situation had been brought "under control".

There was a heavy military presence in Dhaka, with bunkers set up at some intersections and key roads blocked with barbed wire.

But more people were on the streets, as were hundreds of rickshaws.

"I did not drive rickshaws the first few days of curfew, But today I didn't have any choice," rickshaw driver Hanif said.

The head of Students Against Discrimination, the main group organising the protests, said in his hospital room Monday that he feared for his life after being abducted and beaten, and the group said Tuesday at least four of its leaders were missing, asking authorities to "return" them by the evening.

'Sheikh Hasina never flees'

With around 18 million young people in Bangladesh out of work, according to government figures, the June reintroduction of the quota scheme –– halted since 2018 –– deeply upset graduates facing an acute jobs crisis.

With protests mounting across the country, the Supreme Court on Sunday curtailed the number of reserved jobs from 56 percent of all positions to seven percent, mostly for the children and grandchildren of "freedom fighters" from the 1971 war.

While 93 percent of jobs will be awarded on merit, the decision fell short of protesters' demands to scrap the "freedom fighter" category altogether.

Late Monday, Hasina's spokesman said the prime minister had approved a government order putting the Supreme Court's judgement into effect.

Critics say the quota is used to stack public jobs with loyalists to Hasina's ruling Awami League.

Opponents accuse her government of bending the judiciary to its will.

Hasina, 76, has ruled the country since 2009 and won her fourth consecutive election in January after a vote without genuine opposition.

The violence of the last week raised speculation about her future, but she told an audience of businessmen Monday: "Sheikh Hasina never flees."