Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigns and flees country

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country on Monday as protesters stormed her residence and set fire to government offices. Her resignation marked an end to a 15-year violent rule.

Bangladeshi army chief Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman announced Hasina’s resignation in a televised address on Aug. 5. She allegedly fled to India weeks after thousands of student protests took over the country.

According to Human Rights Watch, an estimated 300 people have been killed, thousands injured, and more than 10,000 arrested.

“Sheikh Hasina’s resignation after nearly 15 years of increasing authoritarianism brings new hope for accountability and democratic reform to Bangladesh,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The interim government should seize this opportunity to reorient the country toward the rule of law with independent institutions to assure justice for the victims.”

Protests began peacefully in July but were met with violence on July when students were attacked. The protests began as demonstrations by students against government job quotas but surged into a movement demanding her resignation after she said those protesting were “not students but terrorists who are out to destabilise the nation”.

This was followed by uproar on corruption, unfair elections, abuse of security forces, shutdown of the internet and enforced disappearances.