Bangladesh is currently experiencing a near-total national internet shutdown, internet performance monitoring organisation NetBlocks said on Thursday.
“Live network data show Bangladesh is now in the midst of a near-total national internet shutdown,” the watchdog said on Telegram.
The internet blackout occurs in the wake of earlier attempts to limit access to social media and mobile data services, according to its statement.
Protests against the Bangladeshi government’s quota system for public positions have escalated this week following violent clashes at Dhaka University. On Tuesday, The Daily Star newspaper reported that the clashes had left 19 people dead and more than 2,500 injured.
Protesters are urging an end to the quota system, which reserves 30% of government roles for veterans’ families from the 1971 war for independence. They allege discrimination and favoritism toward supporters of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whose party, the Awami League, led the independence movement.
After protests in 2018, the government stopped quotas but reinstated them in June due to High Court orders after appeals from veteran families. The Bangladeshi Supreme Court will decide on August 7 after the government appealed the High Court’s decision.
