Bangladesh garment factories reopen after unrest

Garment factories and banks reopened in Bangladesh Wednesday after authorities eased a curfew imposed to contain deadly clashes sparked by student protests over civil service employment quotas.

Last week's violence killed at least 186 people, according to an AFP count of victims reported by police and hospitals, during some of the worst unrest of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's tenure.

Thousands of troops are patrolling cities around the South Asian country to keep order and most Bangladeshis remain without internet nearly a week after a nationwide shutdown was imposed.

However, with calm returning to the streets after several days of unbridled mayhem, Bangladesh's economically vital textile factories resumed operations after receiving government clearance.

"We were worried about the future of our company," 40-year-old factory worker Khatun, who gave only one name, told AFP.

Despite the disruption, Khatun said she supported the demands of student protesters to reform government hiring rules and was shocked by last week's violence.

"The government should implement all their demands," she said. "A lot of them were killed. They sacrificed for future generations."

The garment industry generates $50 billion in yearly export revenue for Bangladesh, employing millions of young women to sew clothes for H&M, Zara, Gap and other leading international brands.

A spokesperson for the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association said garment factories had resumed business "across the country".

Hasina's home minister Asaduzzaman Khan agreed to exempt textile workers from an ongoing curfew to allow them to return to work, the peak body's spokesperson said.

The curfew was eased Wednesday to allow some commerce to resume but remains in effect for most Bangladeshis for 19 hours each day.

Banks, the stock exchange in the capital Dhaka, and some government offices also opened between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm to match the daily break in the stay-home order, government spokesman Shibli Sadiq said.

- 'So much blood' -

The student group that led this month's protests has suspended demonstrations until at least Friday, with one leader saying they had not wanted reform "at the expense of so much blood".

Information Minister Mohammad Ali Arafat told reporters on Wednesday that the deaths were "unfortunate".

"We are shocked," he said. "We express our deep condolences to the family members, those who lost their near and dear ones.

He said a judicial probe announced Sunday would examine how the protests began and mete out justice for those who committed acts of violence, "regardless who is involved".

Police have arrested at least 2,500 people since the violence began last week.

Hasina's government says the stay-home order will be relaxed further as the situation improves.

Broadband internet was being gradually restored from Tuesday evening but mobile internet -- a key communication method for protest organisers -- remained inoperative.

Internet connectivity across Bangladesh was still around 20 percent of normal levels, according to data published by US-based monitor Netblocks.

- 'We are shocked' -

With around 18 million young people in Bangladesh out of work, according to government figures, the reintroduction in June of the quota scheme -- halted since 2018 -- deeply upset graduates facing an acute jobs crisis.

Critics say the quota is used to stack public jobs with loyalists to Hasina's Awami League.

The Supreme Court cut the number of reserved jobs on Sunday but fell short of protesters' demands to scrap the quotas entirely.

Hasina, 76, has ruled the country since 2009 and won her fourth consecutive election in January after a vote without genuine opposition.

Her government is also accused by rights groups of misusing state institutions to entrench its hold on power and stamp out dissent, including the extrajudicial killing of opposition activists.