Bangladeshis Set Sheikh Hasina’s Party Offices on Fire
Jessore District Awami League Secretary Shaheen Chakladar’s hotel set on fire, Aug. 5, 2024. Photo: X/ @rezwan
August 5, 2024 Hour: 2:33 pm
The Awami League leader fled her country after weeks of intense protests against her administration.
On Monday, resigned Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina landed at the Hindon Airbase in India on a special military flight, after fleeing Bangladesh following violent protests.
RELATED:
Bangladesh PM Hasina Resigns, Interim Government to Run Country
“The aircraft carrying Sheikh Hasina landed at the Hindon Airbase,” news channel Aaj Tak reported, adding that the Hindon Airbase is situated in Ghaziabad, a city adjacent to New Delhi. Hasina was accompanied by her sister Sheikh Rehana and may fly to London later on.
On Monday morning, Army Chief Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman announced that an interim government will be set up to run Bangladesh after Hasina’s resignation. Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters set fire to public buildings and the offices of the Awami League, Hasina’s party.
The office of the Awami League president and the residence of the Chief Justice were consumed by flames, while hundreds of people stormed Hasina’s official residence.
The fire did not spare the museum dedicated to the so-called “Father of the Nation” or Bangabandhu, a title for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s first president who was assassinated in a military coup in 1975. He was the father of Sheikh Hasina.
“The situation is chaotic; we are receiving many reports of fires but cannot get close due to the crowds,” said Shah Jahan Sikder, a spokesman for the firefighters in the country’s capital.
Amid the chaos and euphoria in the streets, hospital sources reported receiving a large number of bodies. A spokesperson for Dhaka University Hospital, Bacchu Mia, reported that at least 15 people were killed on Monday.
Despite a curfew, citizens took to the streets to continue the protests, which began with demands to abolish the quota system that restricts access to public employment. Since early July, the Hasina administration had been harshly repressing protests, resulting in no fewer than 350 deaths.
teleSUR/ JF Sources: Xinhua – EFE
