Bangladesh Prime Minister resigns, flees as protesters storm palace
The Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and fled the country following weeks of deadly protests in the South Asian country, just as the Army Chief Waker-Uz-Zaman in address to the nation announced that an interim government will now run Bangladesh
Penpushing reports that the fled Prime Minister who ruled the country for close to two decades, boarded a military helicopter on Monday, as huge crowds ignored a national curfew to storm her palace in Dhaka.
The resignation of Hasina came after 300 people died in weeks of protest that the authorities sought to crush, while a night of deadly violence on Sunday killed close to 100 and a curfew was called, and on Monday, soldiers patrolled the streets.
Penpushing further reports that as at the time of filing this report protesters, however, remained defiant and called for a march on Dhaka as crowds swelled in the capital, while dozens of people have been killed and hundreds injured as anti-government protests swept over the past weeks.
The report has it that at least 95 people, including at least 14 police officers, had died on Sunday in the violence, and the death toll was the highest for a single day from any protests in Bangladesh’s recent history,
Penpushing also reports large number of citizens on Monday stormed the Prime Minister’s palace preventing Hasina from delivering a speech, and by early afternoon, the mood on the street had turned to one of celebration after the news of the Prime Minister’s departure spread.
The protests it is recalled began last month after student groups demanded the scrapping of a controversial quota system in government jobs and the demonstration has now escalated into a campaign to remove Hasina.
The Prime Minister who won a fourth straight term in January in an election boycotted by the opposition claimed that the protesters who engaged in sabotage and destruction were no longer students but criminals, stressing that people should deal with them with iron hands.
Penpushing reports that the government announced a holiday from Monday to Wednesday, while courts were to be closed indefinitely, and mobile internet services were cut off, as well as Facebook and messaging apps, including WhatsApp, were inaccessible.
The sources said about 11,000 people have been arrested in recent weeks, while the crisis has also resulted in the closure of schools and universities across the country, and authorities at one point imposed a shoot-on-sight curfew.
Penpushing further reports that sources added that in Dhaka’s Uttara neighbourhood, police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of people who blocked a major highway, as protesters attacked homes and vandalised a community welfare office in the area, where hundreds of ruling party activists took up positions.
The sources disclosed that some crude bombs were detonated, and gunshots were heard, explaining that at least 20 people were hit by bullets in the area, however, the United Nations (UN’s) Human Rights Chief, Volker Türk, called for an end to the shocking violence and urged restraint from Bangladeshi politicians and security forces.
Penpushing also reports that Turk expressed particular concern over a mass march planned in Dhaka on Monday, warning of a risk of further loss of life and wider destruction, stressing that government need to stop targeting those protesting peacefully.
‘The government must cease targeting those participating peacefully in the protest movement, immediately release those arbitrarily detained, restore full internet access, and create conditions for meaningful dialogue’, he added.
‘The continuing effort to suppress popular discontent, including through the excessive use of force, and the deliberate spread of misinformation and incitement to violence, must immediately cease’, he emphasized.
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