Bangladesh protest death toll reaches 173

The death toll in ongoing Bangladeshi student protests reached 173 late on Monday, according to an AFP count of victims from hospitals around the country.

A combined 64 deaths were reported across three hospitals in the capital Dhaka and another six deaths in the northern city of Rangpur, in addition to 103 deaths previously reported.

The number of arrests in days of violence in Bangladesh approached the 2,500 mark in an AFP tally on Tuesday, after protests over employment quotas sparked widespread unrest.

At least 173 people have died, including several police officers, according to a separate the media 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.

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".

A curfew has been imposed and soldiers deployed across the South Asian country, while a nationwide internet blackout since Thursday has drastically restricted the flow of information.

Security personnel walk past damaged vehicles, that were set afire by a mob during clashes in Dhaka. Reuters

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 liberation war against Pakistan.

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

At least 200 people had been arrested in the central districts of Narayanganj and Narsingdi, their police chiefs told the media, while at least 80 had been held in Bogra.

At least 168 had been arrested in the industrial city of Gazipur, 75 in the northern city of Rangpur, and 60 in Barisal in the south, senior police officials said.

In the rural and industrial part of Dhaka 80 people were arrested, on top of an earlier figure of at least 532 for the capital itself, giving a total of 1,195.

There was a heavy military presence in Dhaka on Tuesday, 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.

Students clash with police during a protest over a controversial quota system in Dhaka, Bangladesh. AP

"I did not drive rickshaws the first few days of curfew, But today I didn't have any choice," rickshaw driver Hanif told the media. "If I don't do it, my family will go hungry."

Bangladesh is expected to formally accept on Tuesday a court ruling to cut quotas for government jobs, media said, meeting a key demand of students whose protests sparked one of the worst outbreaks of violence in years that killed almost 150 people.

Calm prevailed in the capital, Dhaka and most major cities for a second day amid a curfew and an Internet and telecoms shutdown the government imposed after the protests erupted last week.

However, the security situation is still not entirely under control, the army chief, who toured the capital by helicopter on Tuesday morning, told reporters.

Officials said curfew is to be relaxed for four hours in the afternoon, up from three on Monday, to allow people to buy essentials.

The protesters wanted authorities to overturn a high court decision last month that restored a quota system setting aside nearly 60% of government jobs for some people, such as families of those who fought in Bangladesh's war of independence.

Police fire tear gas shells to disperse students protesting a controversial quota system in Dhaka on Friday. AP

The quotas had been scrapped in 2018 by the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who accepted late on Monday a Supreme Court ruling to scrap most of the quotas.

The acceptance is expected to be published in the government's formal record on Tuesday, media said, meeting one demand made by protesters.

On Monday Hasina blamed her political opponents for violence and said the curfew, imposed on Friday, would be lifted "whenever the situation gets better".

The protesters have given the government 48 hours to meet eight demands, such as a public apology from Hasina and the re-opening of university campuses shut when the violence began.

On Tuesday, Malaysia became the latest nation to evacuate citizens from Bangladesh because of the violence, with the foreign ministry saying a flight bringing them home was set to arrive in Kuala Lumpur, the capital.

India also said at least 4,500 Indian students had returned home from Bangladesh.

Agencies