US issues 'don't travel' alert for protest-hit Bangladesh

The US State Department warned Americans on Saturday not to travel to Bangladesh and said it would began removing some diplomats and their families from the country roiled by deadly civil unrest.

"Travelers should not travel to Bangladesh due to ongoing civil unrest in Dhaka," the department said in an advisory that escalated its advice of "reconsider travel" from earlier in the day.

The State Department is allowing the voluntary departure of non-emergency US government employees and family members, the advisory said.

According to an AFP tally at least 133 people have been killed his week in Bangladesh, where protests this month have called for an end to a quota system that reserves more than half civil service posts for specific groups.

Soldiers were patrolling Bangladesh cities to quell growing unrest, with riot police firing on protesters who defied a government curfew.