More than 100 people were injured in Bangladesh on Saturday after police fired rubber bullets at student protesters, a doctor and witnesses said, a major escalation in a stand-off between the government and demonstrators.

For the last week students have brought parts of the capital Dhaka to a standstill with a protest against poor road safety after two teenagers were killed by a speeding bus.

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

On Saturday the protests took a violent turn in Dhaka’s Jigatala neighborhood.

Witnesses said police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators and that alleged pro-government activists attacked youngsters, including some of those rushing to nearby hospitals for treatment.