July 18, 2024: Deadliest day yet in quota protests

On one of the deadliest days in Bangladesh's recent history, at least 29 people, including 11 students and a journalist, were killed and over 3,000 injured in violent clashes across the country, as the quota reform protest intensified into a full-scale nationwide uprising on July 18, 2024.

The protests, which picked up from where they had left off the previous night, spread rapidly through Dhaka and other cities. Violence broke out as police and ruling party activists attempted to suppress student-led demonstrators who enforced a complete shutdown of roads, offices, and transport networks.

In Dhaka alone, at least 23 people were killed. Ten of them died in Jatrabari, Shanir Akhra, and Azimpur; nine in Uttara and surrounding areas; and one each in Badda, Savar, and Dhanmondi. A journalist of Dhaka Times, Mehedi Hasan, was among the dead, killed during coverage of the clashes at Jatrabari.

Thick plumes of black smoke hung over parts of the capital as buildings, vehicles, and public property burned. Protesters reportedly attacked and set fire to state-run BTV Bhaban in Rampura and the Disaster Management Office in Mohakhali. At least three police outposts in the capital were also torched.

Clashes were reported from major intersections --Uttara, Jatrabari, Rampura, Dhanmondi, Badda, Mirpur, and Science Lab -- as law enforcers, aided by ruling party activists, used shotguns, tear gas shells, and sound grenades against the protesters. Students retaliated with brick chunks and makeshift barricades.

In Uttara, intense clashes turned a kilometre of the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway into a battlefield.

Hospitals in Uttara and other parts of Dhaka were overwhelmed. Medical staff at multiple private hospitals treated injured protesters on the roads outside their facilities, unable to accommodate the huge number of injured. Doctors confirmed that many victims had been hit by shotgun pellets fired from close range.

Similar scenes unfolded in at least 19 districts. Two students were killed in Narsingdi, two in Chattogram, and one each in Sylhet and Madaripur. In Savar, Shaikh Ashabul Yamin, a student of Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST), died after being shot during clashes.

In Chattogram's Bahaddarhat area, two young men with bullet wounds died from their injuries at Chattogram Medical College Hospital. Protesters there chased with police and briefly took control of the intersection before torching a police box.

In Madaripur, a student drowned in Shakuni Lake while trying to escape from police and BCL activists. The additional superintendent of police said they recovered the body but had not confirmed the cause of death.

At least 50 people were injured in Rangpur, where students from Begum Rokeya University clashed with police.

In Dinajpur, protesters attacked two Awami League offices and set fire to 15 motorcycles. In Manikganj, Bogura, Natore, and Sylhet, hundreds were injured in sporadic clashes involving police, BCL activists, and protesters.

Internet access across the country was completely shut down after the government instructed international terrestrial cable (ITC) companies and mobile carriers to suspend services. The blackout cut off millions and disrupted reporting from the ground.

Amid the bloodshed, the government invited students to talks in the afternoon, but the call was rejected. "No dialogue will take place over the blood of martyrs," said Nahid Islam, a key organiser of the movement, in a Facebook post before internet access was cut. "It is the government that has to find the solution."

The home ministry issued a stern warning, stating that if "destructive activities" continued, law enforcement would use the full force of the law to maintain order.

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, after a meeting with deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, said the premier had instructed party leaders to take to the streets and resist "the creators of chaos."

He also confirmed that the government would appeal to the Supreme Court on July 20 to retain 80 percent of government jobs based on merit.

Meanwhile, BNP announced plans to hold programmes nationwide in support of the student movement. Jatiyo Party Chairman and opposition leader of the parliament, GM Quader, condemned the "barbaric attacks" on students, calling them unacceptable in a civilised society. He urged the government to stop the violence and accept the students' logical demands.

As the bloodshed deepened and the internet blackout tightened its grip, one thing became painfully clear: for the grieving families, the wounded protesters, and a shaken nation, the fight was no longer just about quotas. It was the moment a generation rose to reclaim its future.