Death toll of violence during anti-government protests in Bangladesh crosses 300

At least 94 people died on Sunday in the deadliest day of anti-government demonstrations in weeks.

The overall death toll from clashes in Bangladesh has risen to at least 300 people, after 94 died Sunday in the deadliest day in weeks of anti-government demonstrations, according to an AFP tally.

The tally is based on reports from police, officials and doctors at hospitals.

Meanwhile heeding the protesters' demand to resign, Bangladesh's Sheikh Hasina resigned from the post of Prime Minister on Monday.

Earlier reports had said that the prime minister had left the capital Dhaka , a source close to the embattled leader told AFP on Monday.

The status of the protests which were set to resume on Monday, is now uncertain. The country's Army Chief was also set to make a press conference shortly.

The military had announced that a new curfew, including in the capital, Dhaka, and other divisional and district headquarters, would come into effect on Sunday evening for an indefinite period.

The government had earlier imposed a curfew with some exceptions in Dhaka and elsewhere.

Demonstrators are demanding the resignation of the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, after protests last month that began with students calling for an end to a quota system for government jobs. Those demonstrations escalated into violence that left more than 200 dead.

As the renewed violence raged, Hasina said the protesters who engaged in “sabotage” and destruction were no longer students but criminals, and that people should deal with them with iron hands.

The ruling Awami League party said the demand for Hasina’s resignation showed that the protests had been taken over by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist party and the now banned Jamaat-e-Islami party.

On Sunday, the government announced a holiday from Monday to Wednesday. Courts were to be closed indefinitely, while mobile internet services were cut off, and Facebook and messaging apps, including WhatsApp, were inaccessible.

At least 11,000 people have been arrested in recent weeks. The unrest has also resulted in the closure of schools and universities across the country, and authorities at one point imposed a shoot-on-sight curfew.

Video footage on Sunday showed protesters vandalising a prison van at the chief metropolitan magistrates court in Dhaka. Other videos showed police opening fire on the crowds with bullets, rubber bullets and teargas. The protesters set fire to vehicles and the ruling party’s offices. Some carried sharp weapons and sticks, according to TV footage.