Dhaka, Bangladesh
CNN
—
Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on Monday after weeks of deadly anti-government protests swept the South Asian country.
The announcement by Bangladesh Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman came after protesters stormed the prime minister’s office in the capital, Dhaka.
Images showed flames shooting from a vehicle near Hasina’s home and police struggling to control a crowd swarming nearby. Reuters reported people were also seen climbing over an imposing statue of Hasina’s father, independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in Dhaka and using axes to chop off the head.
A CNN reporter in Dhaka said troops and police opened fire on protesters gathering in the area earlier in the day.
At least 91 people were killed and hundreds injured on Sunday in clashes between police and protesters demanding an end to government cuts and the prime minister’s resignation. Opponents say the cuts are discriminatory.
Sunday’s death toll, including 13 police officers, was the country’s highest single-day death toll in recent protests. It surpassed the 67 killed on July 19 when students took to the streets in protest against quotas, according to Reuters. UNICEF said on Friday that at least 32 children had been killed in last month’s protests.
The government imposed an indefinite nationwide curfew over the weekend following widespread unrest that spread to cities including Rajshahi, Barisal and Chittagong, while rights groups accused authorities of using excessive force against protesters, a charge the government denies.
The army chief said the military would form a caretaker government following Hasina’s resignation and called on students to “maintain peace and support us”.
“Whatever your demands, we will implement them and bring back peace to the country. Please help us and stay away from violence,” Zaman said on Monday. He added: “The army will not fire on anyone, the police will not fire on anyone. I gave the order.”
The US Embassy in Dhaka urged US citizens to “evacuate to safe locations” in new travel guidelines issued on Monday, with officials adding that US citizens in the capital should consider returning to their home countries amid an “unpredictable and volatile” situation.
Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka’s main air hub, was temporarily closed following Hasina’s resignation, according to the Bangladesh News Agency (BSS).
Reuters reported that Hasina also on Sunday denounced the student protesters as “terrorists” and said they were “trying to destabilize the country.” “I appeal to the people to use strong measures to crush these terrorists,” she said.
Human rights groups expressed concern over increasing reports of political violence following a general election earlier this year that gave President Hasina a fourth consecutive term in power.
The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party boycotted January’s nationwide vote after critics warned that Hasina and her government were moving toward a one-party system tainted by accusations of authoritarianism.
Her resignation on Monday was met with a mixture of jubilation and skepticism.
“Hasina may be gone but Bangladesh still has a long way to go. The country will not be free until religious and ethnic minorities are protected and given justice,” Khatib Zahin, 28, told CNN.
Another resident, Arifeen Mahmood Khan, said: “Let us be better, stronger and kinder than ever before. Let us work together to build a better Bangladesh that we have always dreamed of.”
Police opened fire on protesters in Dhaka earlier in the day, as security forces are under investigation for a series of atrocities against protesters, CNN reported.
At least four people were injured, including one who was shot in the head, as protesters gathered at Dhaka Medical College on Monday, journalists said.
Protesters told CNN that troops had blocked the Bakshi Bazar gate of Dhaka Medical College, where police also used tear gas on protesters, according to protesters at the site.
Students and protesters who gathered on the Dhaka University campus and at the Shaheed Minar, a national monument in the capital, were assaulted by police.
Protesters there said police “brutally beat” them with bamboo sticks and tried to use tear gas to disperse the crowd.
“15 minutes ago there was direct firing in Shahbagh area. No estimate of the number of injured. It is still continuing. Tear gas was fired at civilians near Motigil Shantinagar,” one protester told CNN.
Elsewhere in Dhaka, troops fired warning shots into the air and at protesters.
Details and videos are scarce as Bangladesh is in the midst of a “near-total nationwide internet shutdown, following earlier social media and mobile shutdowns,” according to data from global internet monitoring group NetBlocks.
Video posted on social media and verified by CNN showed security forces firing live ammunition into the air near protesters on Dhaka’s N1 highway.
Protesters in Dhaka told CNN that militant forces had surrounded the university campus.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that at least 91 people were killed in Sunday’s clashes.
