On Tuesday, Bangladesh’s military took control of the country following mass protests that led to the resignation and flight of longtime ruler Sheikh Hasina. Hasina, 76, who had been in power since 2009, was accused of rigging the January elections.
Over the past month, millions of people protested, demanding her resignation. Despite the security forces’ efforts to suppress the unrest, resulting in hundreds of deaths, the protests intensified.
On Monday, Hasina fled Bangladesh aboard a helicopter as the military turned against her. Later that day, Bangladesh army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announced on state television that Hasina had resigned and that the military would form a caretaker government.
“The country has suffered a lot, the economy has been hit, many people have been killed — it is time to stop the violence,” said Waker, shortly after jubilant crowds stormed and looted Hasina’s official residence.
Millions of Bangladeshis flooded the streets of Dhaka after Waker’s announcement.
“I feel so happy that our country has been liberated,” said Sazid Ahnaf, 21, comparing the events to the independence war that split the nation from Pakistan more than five decades ago.
“We have been freed from a dictatorship. It’s a Bengal uprising, what we saw in 1971, and now seeing in 2024.”
However, scenes of chaos and anger also unfolded, with police reporting at least 66 people killed on Monday as mobs launched revenge attacks on Hasina’s allies. Protesters stormed parliament, torched TV stations, and smashed statues of Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s independence hero.
Additionally, a museum dedicated to Rahman was set on fire, with flames consuming portraits, an unthinkable act just hours earlier when Hasina still had the security forces’ loyalty under her autocratic rule.
“The time has come to make them accountable for torture,” said protester Kaza Ahmed. “Sheikh Hasina is responsible for murder.” Eyewitnesses told AFP that offices of Hasina’s Awami League across the country were torched and looted.
The unrest began last month with protests against civil service job quotas and escalated into broader demands for Hasina’s resignation. Rights groups accused her government of misusing state institutions to entrench its power and suppress dissent, including through the extrajudicial killing of opposition activists.
According to an AFP tally based on reports from police, government officials, and doctors, at least 366 people have died in the unrest that began in early July.
Political Vacuum
Waker announced that a curfew would be lifted on Tuesday morning, with the military set to lead an interim government. On Monday night, Bangladeshi President Mohammed Shahabuddin ordered the release of prisoners from the protests, including former prime minister and key opposition leader Khaleda Zia, 78. Zia, in poor health, was jailed by her arch-rival Hasina for graft in 2018.
The president and army chief met with key opposition leaders on Monday night, with the president’s press team stating that it was “decided to form an interim government immediately.” It was not immediately clear if Waker would lead this government.
Hasina’s fate remains uncertain. According to a source close to the ousted leader, she fled the country by helicopter. Media in neighboring India reported that Hasina landed at a military airbase near New Delhi.
A top-level source mentioned that she intended to “transit” to London, but calls by the British government for a UN-led investigation into the “unprecedented levels of violence” cast doubt on this plan. Protesters widely called for Hasina’s close allies to remain in the country.
The military shut down Dhaka’s international airport on Monday evening without providing a reason. Bangladesh has a history of coups, with the military declaring an emergency in January 2007 after widespread political unrest and installing a military-backed caretaker government for two years.
Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Washington-based Wilson Center, warned that Hasina’s departure “would leave a major vacuum” and put the country in “uncharted territory.” He emphasized that “the coming days are critical.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed the importance of a “peaceful, orderly, and democratic transition,” according to his spokesman. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell echoed this call. Meanwhile, former colonial ruler Britain and the United States urged “calm.”
