Malaysia evacuates 123 citizens from violence-hit Bangladesh

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Malaysia evacuated 123 of its citizens from Bangladesh on Tuesday in response to violent unrest that has killed dozens of people.

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution greeted the evacuees, including 80 students, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport after they landed on a chartered AirAsia plane. More than 50 Malaysians opted to stay in the country due to work or study, officials said.

A controversial system for allocating government jobs has triggered violent protests in Bangladesh, with clashes between police and mainly student protesters killing more than 100 people, according to local media.

There was apparent calm after Bangladesh top court scaled back the quota in a ruling issued Sunday.

The protests have posed the most serious challenge to Bangladesh’s government since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won a fourth consecutive term in January elections that the main opposition groups boycotted. Universities have been closed, the internet has been shut off and the government imposed a national curfew, and deployed military forces to maintain order.

Saifuddin said the Internet and communication outage in Bangladesh had hindered Malaysia's ability to reach its citizens. He said the Malaysian High Commission in Dhaka helped to facilitate the safe return of 19 students before Tuesday's evacuation flight.

He said at least 40 Malaysian students decided to remain as they are in their final year of studies. Officials said five Malaysian army officials and 10 pilots also chose to stay in Bangladesh.

Cassandra David, a student at the Dhaka Medical College, said she has remained in her hostel since the curfew was imposed and didn't witness any violence. Despite the Internet being down, she said she was well-informed of the situation by her family, the Malaysian High Commission and her college principal.

She said she was escorted to the High Commission earlier Tuesday under tight control and saw tankers and armed police and army officers patrolling the streets.