Facebook services are down in Bangladesh as Islamists protest against the visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Four Hefazat-e-Islami members died on Friday as the Police cracked down on lawlessness in the streets.
“We’re aware that our services have been restricted in Bangladesh. We’re working to understand more and hope to have full access restored as soon as possible,” Facebook said in a statement. Meanwhile, Hefazat-e-Islami protesters marched on the streets of Chittagong and Dhaka.
“Police opened fire on our peaceful supporters. We will not let the blood of our brothers go in vein,” the Islamist group’s organisational secretary Azizul Haque told a rally. The Bangladesh government has decided to deploy border guards in light of the violent protests.
“With the instructions of the home ministry and in aid of the civil administration, required number of BGB has been deployed in different districts of the country,” Lieutenant Colonel Fayzur Rahman told AFP on Saturday.
Four members of the hardline Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam were reportedly shot dead on Friday in police firing in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The police had opened fire to control Islamists protesting against India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the nation’s capital Dhaka. According to reports, the police had retaliated when the protest turned violent.
Hefazat-e-Islami has a history of adopting hardline Islamist stance and accused of persecuting the Hindu minority in Bangladesh.