Protesters in Bangladesh achieved their goal at the cost of 114 casualties
Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Sunday overturned a 30 percent government employment quota for the children of independence fighters, sparking student protests across the country. At least 114 people have died as a result of public unrest in recent days.
Overturning a lower court ruling, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court ruled that 93 percent of public jobs in the South Asian nation should be open to merit-based candidates, Bangladesh Attorney General AM Amin Uddin told Reuters.
"The students have made it clear that they have nothing to do with the violence and arson that has been going on in Bangladesh since Monday," he said by phone.
"I request the government to find those responsible for the violence and take strict action against them," Uddin added.
Internet was cut off in Bangladesh on Thursday, and a curfew was announced on Friday. Soldiers patrol the streets of the capital Dhaka, where army checkpoints have been set up.
According to the local press, there were clashes between the protesters and the security forces.
Riots broke out across the country after students protested government job quotas, including 30 percent for relatives of independence veterans from Pakistan.
The Supreme Court ordered the government to reduce the job quota for families of independence fighters to 5 percent, the attorney general said. The remaining 2 percent of jobs are still reserved for people with poor health and disabilities, he added.
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Protests against the government's employment quota turned into riots in Bangladesh, killing 28 people. Demonstrators broke into the office of state television, started a fire in the building's parking lot and lobby. All mosques in the country are offering funeral prayers in absentia for those who died in the riots.
