An irate mob vandalised the statue of former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman after Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s embattled prime minister and his daughter fled the country following protests demanding her resignation on Monday.
It's Shame …!Breaking the statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Bangladesh is like breaking the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in India.
But this is an agitated crowd, it does not know right or wrong.#SheikhHasina #Bangladesh pic.twitter.com/HmdQRuQvGN
— Harsh Tiwari (@harsht2024) August 5, 2024
Footage shared by Bangladeshi news media outlet Channel 24 showed a protester vandalising the statue of Mujibur Rahman in Dhaka’s Bijoy Sarani which is one the key roads of Bangladesh capital Dhaka.
Protesters have turned against Awami League, its founder and ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, after protests demanding her resignation as protesters and government supporters countrywide battled each other.
The army has taken over the government of the country and Bangladesh’s army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said the violence must stop as protesters broke into the residence of the prime minister, Ganabhaban.
Bangladesh’s army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said in a broadcast to the nation on state television on Monday Hasina had resigned and the military would form an interim government.
“The country has suffered a lot, the economy has been hit, many people have been killed — it is time to stop the violence,” Waker said, dressed in military fatigues.
“I hope after my speech, the situation will improve,” he said.
The career infantryman said he would talk to the president to form a caretaker government in the South Asian nation of some 170 million people. It was not immediately clear if he would lead it.
Waker said he had held talks with the main opposition parties and civil society members but not Hasina’s Awami League.
Hasina, 76, fled the country by helicopter, and is likely to land in India before heading to London.
At least 94 people were killed on Sunday, including 14 police officers, the deadliest day of the unrest.
The day’s violence took the total number of people killed since protests began in early July to at least 300, according to an AFP tally based on police, government officials and doctors at hospitals.
Catch the latest developments on Bangladesh’s political unrest in our live blog.
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