Unrelenting history of coups in Bangladesh
Bangladesh has a history of bloodshed and political violence since gaining independence in 1971.
Bangladesh has a history of bloodshed and political violence since gaining independence in 1971.
The country’s first president was assassinated during his overthrow by the army in 1975 and Bangladesh was run by the military dictator again from 1982 to 1990. Democracy was restored in 1991.
In 1996, Abu Saleh Mohammad Nasim Bir Bikram, who was appointed army chief by the then PM Begum Khaleda Zia, initially refused to execute the president’s order to sack some army commanders. In the days following the sacking there was considerable military build up in and around Dhaka. However, the situation was politically defused.
There was relative calm after this incident but street battles between Zia and Hasina’s supporters prompted the army to step in again in January 2007.
The government of Hasina, who came to power in 2009, was hit by a military rebellion later that year when 57 army officers were killed by renegade border guards.