Bangladesh clashes leave nearly 150 students injured

DHAKA – More than 150 students have been injured in Bangladesh during clashes at a university campus, a sign of serious discord between groups instrumental in fomenting a national revolution in 2024.

The clashes on the afternoon of Feb 18 began after the youth wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) sought to recruit students at the Khulna University of Engineering and Technology in the country’s south-west.

That sparked a confrontation with campus members of Students Against Discrimination, a protest group that led the uprising that ousted autocratic Bangladeshi ex-premier Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.

At least 50 people were taken for treatment after the skirmish, Khulna police officer Kabir Hossain told AFP.

“The situation is now under control, and an extra contingent of police has been deployed,” he added.

Communications student Jahidur Rahman told AFP that those hospitalised had injuries from thrown bricks and “sharp weapons”, and that around 100 others had suffered minor injuries.

Footage of the violence showing rival groups wielding scythes and machetes, along with injured students being carted to hospital for treatment, was widely shared on Facebook.

Both groups blamed the other for starting the violence, with the BNP student wing chief Nasir Uddin Nasir accusing members of Islamist political party Jamaat of agitating the situation to force a confrontation.

Jamaat activists “created this unwarranted clash”, he told AFP.

Local student Obayed Ullah told AFP that the BNP had defied a decision by the campus to remain free of activities by established political parties.

He added that there was “no presence” of Jamaat on campus.

The incident provoked outrage among students elsewhere in the country, with a protest rally held late on the night of Feb 18 to condemn the BNP’s youth wing at Dhaka University.

Students Against Discrimination launched protests in 2024 that toppled