Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina resigns, lands at Ghaziabad's Hindon Air Base as protesters storm Dhaka palace
Bangladesh protests: Sheikh Hasina, 76, submitted her resignation and fled the country, army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman confirmed.
Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina latest updates: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and left the country on Monday, Army chief Waker uz Zaman confirmed, adding that an interim government will take over the power.
News agency ANI, citing unnamed sources, reported that Sheikh Hasina has landed at Hindon Air Base in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad in a C-130 transport aircraft. The aircraft will be parked near the Indian Air Force’s C-17 and C-130J Super Hercules aircraft hangars, it added. The aircraft movement was monitored by Indian Air Force and security agencies from its entry into Indian airspace to Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad, the sources said.
Protesters stormed her official residence on Monday afternoon, reported. TV images showed hundreds of people ransacking the building and taking away chicken, fish and vegetables.
BBC Bangla reported that Sheikh Hasina was heading to Tripura capital in Agartala in India.
Also Read | Why Sheikh Hasina chose India after fleeing Bangladesh
Video footage showed protesters vandalising and looting Sheikh Hasina's official residence 'Ganabhaban' in the capital Dhaka. They were seen celebrating on the Ganabjhaban premises waving their hands in the air. Many of them were seen leaving with many belongings of the Ganabhaban.
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"I am taking full responsibility," the Bangladesh Army general said, dressed in military fatigues and cap, although it was not immediatly clear if he would head a caretaker government.
“We will form an interim government,” Waker said in a broadcast to the nation on state television, adding that Sheikh Hasina had resigned.
"The country has suffered a lot, the economy has been hit, many people have been killed -- it is time to stop the violence," he added.
"I hope after my speech, the situation will improve."
He said he would talk to the president to form the interim government and had held talks with the main opposition parties and civil society members -- but not Hasina's Awami League.
The prime minister - who has resigned - earlier left the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on a helicopter with her sister, according to reports.
Videos on social media showed protesters climbing a statue of Hasina's father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a 1971 Liberation War hero, in Dhaka and smashing it with hammers.
Her Awami League's office in Dhanmondi and Dhaka was set on fire by the agitators who chanted anti-government slogans.
The government earlier ordered a complete internet shutdown as protestors asked the general public to join a "Long March to Dhaka". However, a government agency gave a verbal order to start broadband internet around 1:15 on Monday.
Bangladesh protests: PM Sheikh Hasina resigns | What we know so far
- Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and fled the country.
- Sheikh Hasina's resignation follows mass protests in Dhaka, where thousands have taken to the streets. Clashes between police and protesters have resulted in at least 98 deaths on Sunday.
- Some protesters have reportedly breached Sheikh Hasina's official residence in Dhaka.
- Over the past month, around 300 people have died as authorities cracked down on anti-government demonstrations.
- Initially starting as a student protest against civil service job quotas, the movement has evolved into a broader anti-government uprising demanding Hasina's resignation.
- At least 11,000 people have been arrested in recent weeks. The unrest has also resulted in the closure of schools and universities across the country, and authorities at one point imposed a shoot-on-sight curfew.
- Hasina offered to talk with student leaders on Saturday, but a coordinator refused and announced a one-point demand for her resignation.
- Hasina repeated her pledges to investigate the deaths and punish those responsible for the violence. She said she was ready to sit down whenever the protesters want.
(With inputs from agencies)
