Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina Resigns, Interim Government to be Formed

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on Monday and fled the country, multiple sources reported, amid escalating violence that has resulted in some of the worst bloodshed since the nation’s independence over five decades ago.

In a televised address, Army Chief General Waker-Us-Zaman confirmed that Hasina, 76, had left the country and that an interim government would be established.

Media reports suggested that Hasina departed in a military helicopter with her sister, heading either to the eastern Indian state of West Bengal or to India’s northeastern state of Tripura. Reuters could not immediately verify these reports.

Television visuals showed thousands of jubilant people flooding the streets of the capital, Dhaka, chanting slogans and celebrating. Protesters stormed Hasina’s official residence, ‘Ganabhaban,’ with many seen carrying away items such as televisions, chairs, and tables from one of the most protected buildings in the country.

“She has fled the country, fled the country,” many shouted in celebration.

Protesters in Dhaka also climbed atop a large statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina’s father and the nation’s independence leader, chiseling away at the head with an axe, as shown in the visuals.

Student activists had called for a march to the capital on Monday, defying a nationwide curfew, to press Hasina to resign. This came a day after deadly clashes across the country killed nearly 100 people. Approximately 150 people have been killed in protests since last month.

On Monday, at least six people were reported killed in clashes between police and protesters in the Jatrabari and Dhaka Medical College areas, according to the Daily Star newspaper. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

The unrest in Bangladesh began last month when student groups demanded the scrapping of a controversial quota system in government jobs. The protests escalated into a broader campaign to oust Hasina, who won a fourth straight term in January in an election boycotted by the opposition.