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Sheikh Hasina flees country amid protests, army announces formation of interim government

Posted on by darion

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday resigned from her post and fled the country amid massive anti-government protests, Bangladeshi army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman announced.

Waker-uz-Zaman said the army was forming a caretaker government.

Hasina left the country along with her younger sister, Sheikh Rehana, Prothom Alo reported. It wasn’t immediately clear where they were headed.

This comes after student protests against a controversial quota system for government jobs, which began in July, escalated into a wider agitation against her administration.

According to the BBC, on Monday afternoon protesters broke into the prime minister’s official residence in Dhaka.

Waker-uz-Zaman met with political parties and civil society representatives after Hasina left the capital, Prothom Alo reported. During a later press conference, he said that no member of Hasina’s Awami League was present at the meeting.

The army chief also called on protesting students to “stay calm and go home” and assured that the perpetrators of all killings would be punished.

Professor Asif Nazrul of the Faculty of Law, University of Dhaka, has been asked to issue a statement calling on students to call off the protest, reports Dhaka Grandstand.

4G mobile internet service, blocked on Sunday following violent demonstrations, has been restored.

On Sunday, at least 93 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured in various parts of the country, media reports. Star of the dayAccording to AFP, the number of anti-government protests since July has exceeded 300.

In July, more than 200 people were killed in protests that erupted after a June Supreme Court ruling restoring a 30 percent quota in government jobs for family members of Bangladesh’s 1971 freedom fighters.

The reservation system, which was abolished in 2018 after widespread protests, has reignited anger among young jobseekers and students who fear they will be denied opportunities because of the quotas.

July 21, Bangladesh Supreme Court reducedbut it did not abolish most quotas for government positions.

The appellate division of the country’s highest court has ordered that 93% of civil service positions be open to candidates without quota limits, overturning a lower court ruling.

But protesters returned to the streets last week, demanding justice for those killed and injured and demanding Hasina’s resignation.

Hasina, who has ruled Bangladesh since 2009 and secured a fourth consecutive term in office with elections in January, has faced sharp criticism for her government’s brutal response, including reports of extrajudicial killings and mass detentions.

This is a developing story. Will be updated as new details emerge.

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