DHAKA, (Reuters) – Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned today and fled the country, as more people were killed in some of the worst violence since the birth of the South Asian nation more than five decades ago.
Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zamanannounced Hasina’s resignation in a televised address to the nation and said an interim government would be formed.
Media reports said Hasina, 76, was flown in a military helicopter with her sister and was headed to India. The CNN News 18 television channel said she had landed in Agartala, the capital of India’s northeastern state of Tripura, across the eastern border of Bangladesh.
Reuters could not immediately verify the reports.
Bangladesh has been engulfed by protests and violence after student protests last month against reservation quotas in government jobs escalated into a campaign for the ouster of Hasina, who won a fourth straight term in January in an election boycotted by the opposition.
About 250 people have been killed and thousands injured in the violence.
Army chief Zaman said he had held “fruitful” talks with leaders of all major political parties he had “invited” and would soon meet President Mohammed Shahabuddin to discuss the way ahead.
“The country is going through a revolutionary period,” said Zaman, 58, who took over as army chief only on June 23.
“I promise you all, we will bring justice to all the murders and injustice. We request you to have faith in the army of the country. I take full responsibility and I assure you to not get disheartened,” he said.
“I request you all to be a little patient, give us some time and together we will be able to solve all the problems,” Zaman said. “Please don’t go back to the path of violence and please return to non-violent and peaceful ways.”
Television visuals showed thousands of people pouring into the streets of the capital Dhaka in jubilation and shouting slogans. Thousands also stormed Hasina’s official residence ‘Ganabhaban’, shouting slogans, pumping fists and showing victory signs.
Crowds thronged the drawing rooms of the residence, and some people could be seen carrying away televisions, chairs and tables from what was one of the most protected buildings in the country.
“She has fled the country, fled the country,” some shouted.
Protesters in Dhaka also climbed atop a large statue of independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina’s father, and began chiselling away at the head with an axe, the visuals showed.
WEEKS OF PROTESTS, VIOLENCE
Student activists had called for a march to the capital Dhaka on Monday in defiance of a nationwide curfew to press Hasina to resign, after deadly clashes across the country on Sunday killed nearly 100 people.
On Monday, at least six people were killed in clashes between police and protesters in the Jatrabari and Dhaka Medical College areas on Monday, the Daily Star newspaper reported. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Sunday’s death toll, which included at least 13 policemen, was the highest for a single day from any protests in Bangladesh’s recent history, surpassing the 67 deaths reported on July 19 when students took to the streets against the quotas.
Last month, at least 150 people were killed and thousands injured in violence touched off by student groups protesting against quotas for government jobs.
The government declared the indefinite nationwide curfew starting at 6 p.m. (1200 GMT) on Sunday and also announced a three-day general holiday starting from Monday.
Over the weekend, there have been attacks, vandalism and arson targeting government buildings, offices of the ruling Awami League party, police stations and houses of public representatives, local media reported. Violence was reported in 39 of the country’s 64 districts.
Bangladesh Railway said it had suspended all services indefinitely due to the escalating violence.
Garment factories in the country, which supply apparel to some of the top brands in the world, have also been closed indefinitely.
The role of the country’s army in tackling the violence had come into focus with a group of retired military officers urging Hasina to withdraw troops from the streets and undertake “political initiatives” to resolve the crisis.
Critics of Hasina, along with human rights groups, have accused her government of using excessive force against protesters, a charge she and her ministers deny.
Hasina had said that “those who are carrying out violence are not students but terrorists who are out to destabilise the nation”.