DHAKA - Police in Bangladesh fired tear gas and lobbed sound grenades on July 31 to scatter protesters marching to demonstrate against violence that killed at least 150 people in July during student-led agitation against job reservations.

       The unrest is the biggest test facing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, 76, since she won a fourth straight term in January elections that were boycotted by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and also marred by deadly protests.

       Police said they had to use force when protesters in the north-eastern district of Sylhet broke through barricades to head for the courts.

       “We requested the protesters to move from the road, but they didn’t listen and instead attacked the police, forcing us to disperse them with tear gas and stun grenades,” said regional deputy commissioner Azbahar Ali Sheikh.

       Police and protesters scuffled in Dhaka, the capital, and the southern port city of Chittagong, witnesses said. It was not immediately clear if there were any fatalities.

       At least 10 people, including four journalists, were injured in southern Barishal district, where police used batons to disperse protesters.

       Police detained at least seven students in Dhaka near the high court, where lawyers and university teachers joined the demonstrators.

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       The July 31 nationwide “March for Justice” was called by the Students Against Discrimination group that was at the forefront of protests against quotas in government jobs.

       That initial unrest earlier in July left thousands wounded as security forces fired rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades to disperse those gathered.

       Although the students had agreed to call off their protest after the Supreme Court scrapped most quotas on July 21, they returned recently to the streets to call out the dozens of deaths, arrests, and government intimidation.

       “We will also demand a United Nations investigation into the violence,” Mr Mohammad Mahin Sarkar, a coordinator of the movement, added in a statement.

       International rights groups have condemned close to 10,000 arrests over the past two weeks on charges of involvement in clashes and destruction of government property.

       They say Ms Hasina has become increasingly autocratic during her last 15 years in power, which have been marked by arrests of political opponents and activists, allegations she denies.

       Ms Hasina, at an event in Dhaka, said Bangladesh had appealed to the United Nations and various international bodies for help

       “We seek their assistance in conducting a proper investigation and ensuring punishment for those responsible,” she added.

       Bangladesh shut down the internet after the earlier unrest and imposed a nationwide curfew as the protests, which began in educational institutions in June, became more widespread.

       Ms Hasina’s government also said it was set to ban the main Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, and its student wing, both of which Dhaka blames for violence unleashed during the protests.

       Dhaka has set up a judicial inquiry to investigate the violence, Law Minister Anisul Huq told Reuters.

       In a statement, Jamaat condemned the proposed ban as “illegal, extrajudicial and unconstitutional.”

       The party’s chief Shafiqur Rahman, along with the opposition, have denied they had stoked the violence.

       Jamaat was effectively barred from elections after a court said in 2013 its registration as a political party conflicted with Bangladesh’s secular Constitution.

       The United Nations, global rights groups, the United States and Britain criticised Dhaka’s use of force against the demonstrators. REUTERS