Bangladesh: PM Sheikh Hasina urges protesters to go home amid violence

As the massive protests staged by students in Bangladesh for better road safety regulations entered the eighth day on Sunday, prime minister Sheikh Hasina urged demonstrators to call off the strike and go home.

Sheikh Hasina on Sunday warned students that a "third party" could sabotage the protests and put the safety of demonstrators at risk France based news agency AFP reported.

"That's why I request all guardians and parents to keep their children at home. Whatever they have done is enough," the prime minister was quoted as saying from her office by AFP.

Tens of thousands of students have paralysed parts of Bangladesh as they hit streets to protest over road safety after two teenagers were killed by a speeding bus. The capital city Dhaka was the most hit from the protests.

Continuing from a week now, the demonstrations took a violent turn on Saturday as clashes broke out between protesters and security officials.

According to reports, at least, 400 students have been injured after police fired rubber bullets at the crowd in an attempt to take control of the situation.

The violence continued on Sunday as well with police firing tear gas into a large crowd marching toward an



office of the ruling Awami League party, AFP reported.

Following the unrest across the country, authorities has also shut down mobile internet services for 24 hours.

During the clashes, a car which was carrying US ambassador Marcia Bernicat was also attacked by "armed men" but she escaped unscathed, news agency AFP reported.

However, police has denied reports of firing rubber bullets or tear gas at the protesters, but hospital staff has said dozens of people had been injured, some seriously, and injuries were consistent with rubber bullets.

Bangladesh's transport sector is widely seen as corrupt, unregulated and dangerous. As news of the teenagers' deaths spread rapidly on social media they became a catalyst for an outpouring of anger against the government.

Hasina's government has ruled Bangladesh since 2009, but in recent months it has been shaken by separate mass protests demanding an end to a decades-old system of discriminatory civil service recruitment. 

Several powerful ministers have pleaded with students to return to their classes, amid fears the unprecedented teen anger could spark widespread anti-government protests before a general election due later this year.