Police have used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators around the country – as well as enforcing a nighttime curfew. Around 200 people have been injured.

On Sunday Law and Justice Minister Anisul Huq told the BBC’s Newshour programme that authorities were showing “restraint”.

“If we had not shown restraint there would have been a bloodbath. I guess our patience has limits,” he added.

In the capital, Dhaka, access to internet on mobile devices has been suspended.

An official from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) official told BBC Bengali that 4G internet service in the Dhaka area had stopped for now, but broadband services would continue.

Without 4G and 3G people cannot communicate using the internet on their mobile devices. The source did not say when internet services would return to normal.

Deaths and injuries have been reported across the country, including the northern districts of Bogra, Pabna and Rangpur.

Thousands of people gathered in a main square in Dhaka and there have been violent incidents in other parts of the city.

In some places, supporters of the governing Awami League are said to be clashing with anti-government protesters.

“The whole city has turned into a battleground,” a policeman, who asked not to be named, told AFP news agency. He said a crowd of several thousand protesters had set fire to cars and motorcycles outside a hospital.

Students Against Discrimination, a group behind the anti-government demonstrations, has called on the prime minister to step down.

The group announced a nationwide disobedience movement starting from Sunday, urging citizens not to pay taxes or any utility bills. The students have also called for a shutdown of all factories and public transport.

More than 200 people were killed in the violence in July, many of them shot by police.

Around 10,000 people have been reportedly detained in a major crackdown by security forces in the past two weeks. Those arrested included opposition supporters and students.

The Awami League is also holding marches across the country on Sunday.

The next few days are seen as crucial for both camps.

“Sheikh Hasina should not only resign, there should be a trial for the killings, looting and corruption,” Nahid Islam, one of the student movement’s leaders, told thousands of people at a gathering on Saturday in Dhaka.

The protests pose a momentous challenge to Ms Hasina, who was elected for a fourth consecutive term in January elections, boycotted by the main opposition.

Students took to the streets last month over the reservation of many civil service jobs for relatives of the veterans of Bangladesh’s independence war with Pakistan in 1971.

Most of the quota has now been scaled back by the government following a government ruling, but students have continued to protest, demanding justice for those killed and injured. Now they want Ms Hasina to step down.

Supporters of Ms Hasina have ruled out her resignation.

Earlier, Ms Hasina offered unconditional dialogue with the student leaders, saying she wanted the violence to end.