Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on Monday, ending her 15-year rule as thousands of protesters stormed her official residence, defying a military curfew. The dramatic turn of events came after months of escalating anti-government demonstrations that culminated in a deadly day of violence on Sunday.
Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announced in a televised address that Hasina had left the country and that an interim government would be formed. The announcement followed a brutal day of unrest on Sunday in which nearly 100 people were killed, bringing the total death toll since protests began in July to at least 300, according to an AFP tally.
Video: Bangladesh mob storms the prime minister's residence / Credit: X
"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." The career infantryman stated he would discuss forming a caretaker government with the president for the South Asian nation of approximately 170 million people. It remained unclear if he would lead it.
Hasina, 76, fled the country by helicopter, according to a source close to the leader who spoke to AFP. The source said she left first by motorcade before being flown out, without specifying her destination.
Jubilant crowds waved flags in the streets on Monday morning, with some dancing atop a tank before hundreds broke through the gates of Hasina's official residence. Bangladesh's Channel 24 broadcast images of people running into the compound, looting furniture and books, while others relaxed on beds.
Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Washington-based Wilson Center, warned that Hasina's departure "would leave a major vacuum."
"If it's a peaceful transition, with an interim set-up taking over until elections are held, then stability risks would be modest and the consequences would be limited," he said. "But if there is a violent transition or a period of uncertainty, that could risk more destabilization and problems inside and outside."
The unrest began in July against civil service job quotas and escalated into wider calls for Hasina to step down. Her government faced accusations from rights groups of misusing state institutions to entrench its power and suppress dissent, including through extrajudicial killings of opposition activists. Demonstrations initially focused on the reintroduction of a quota scheme reserving more than half of all government jobs for certain groups. Protests intensified despite the scheme being scaled back by Bangladesh's top court.
"The time has come for the final protest," said Asif Mahmud, a key leader in the nationwide civil disobedience campaign. A respected former army chief, General Ikbal Karim Bhuiyan, had earlier demanded the government "immediately" withdraw troops and allow protests, delivering a symbolic rebuke to Hasina. "Those who are responsible for pushing people of this country to a state of such extreme misery will have to be brought to justice," Bhuiyan told reporters on Sunday.
The military previously declared an emergency in January 2007 after widespread political unrest, installing a military-backed caretaker government for two years. Hasina then ruled Bangladesh from 2009, winning her fourth consecutive election in January after a vote without genuine opposition.
