The Bangladesh government has also imposed a communications blackout, with all internet and social media access blocked since Thursday night.
As the student-led protests continue to roil Bangladesh leaving over 100 people dead, the Police in the country have been granted “shoot-on-sight” orders. The Sheikh Hasina government has also imposed a nationwide curfew. The curfew, imposed at midnight on Friday, was expected to last until Sunday morning.
The Bangladesh police have been trying to bring the deteriorating security situation under control, with military personnel patrolling the streets of the capital.
The curfew was lifted briefly on Saturday afternoon to allow people to run essential errands, but otherwise people have been ordered to remain at home and all gatherings and demonstrations have been banned.
The government has also imposed a communications blackout, with all internet and social media access blocked since Thursday night. While the government is not releasing official statistics of fatalities and injuries, local media has estimated thousands have been injured and that the death toll has hit 115.
US Asks Its Citizens Not to Travel to Bangladesh
The United States has recommended that its citizens do not travel to Bangladesh and allowed the voluntary departure of its non-emergency government employees and family members in view of the ongoing civil unrest in the South Asian country.
The development comes just a day after the US issued a new travel advisory for Bangladesh, urging Americans to reconsider their travel to the strife-torn country.
Authorities in Bangladesh has imposed a strict curfew across the country and military personnel patrolled parts of the capital to quell further violence after days of clashes over the allocation of government jobs left more than 40 people dead and hundreds injured.
The US Department of State raised the Travel Advisory Level for Bangladesh to Level 4 — ‘Do Not Travel’.
“Do not travel to Bangladesh due to civil unrest, crime, and terrorism,” the State Department said, adding, “The department allowed for the voluntary departure of non-emergency US government employees and family members.”
“The Government of Bangladesh has declared a curfew throughout Bangladesh, ordering everyone to stay indoors. The Bangladeshi Army has been deployed throughout the country to reinforce the police. Telecommunications have been interrupted in Dhaka and across the country. Due to the security situation, there may be a delay in provision of routine consular services,” the advisory stated.
The US State Department said crimes such as muggings, burglaries, assaults, and illegal drug trafficking constitute the majority of criminal activity in Bangladesh’s major cities, but there are no indications foreigners are being targeted because of their nationality.