Army forces were deployed in Bangladeshi cities today after another day of bloody clashes between protesting students and police, which prompted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to cancel foreign visits.

This week’s unrest has so far killed at least 105 people, according to an AFP tally based on hospital sources, and poses a serious challenge to Hasina’s government after 15 years in power.

At least 300 police officers were injured in yesterday’s clashes in various parts of Dhaka, a police spokesman told AFP today.

A curfew has been in effect from midnight Friday to Saturday and the prime minister’s office has asked the army to deploy forces after police failed to bring the riots under control.

Streets in the capital Dhaka were almost deserted at dawn, with soldiers and armored personnel carriers patrolling the city of nearly 20 million people.

The curfew will remain in place until 10.00 (local time, 07.00 Greece time) tomorrow, according to private broadcaster Channel 24.

Hasina was expected to start a diplomatic tour tomorrow, but canceled his plans after a week of escalating violence.

Protesters, who have been daily for days, are demanding an end to a quota system in public sector jobs that they say benefits descendants of members of organizations that support Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, 76, who has been in power in Bangladesh since 2009. 

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