Protesters block the Shahbagh intersection during a protest in Dhaka on Sunday. Picture: AFP
Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and was forced to flee the capital by helicopter on Monday amid a surge of angry protesters calling for her resignation, a source close to her told AFP.
According to the source, Hasina’s security team advised her to leave urgently, leaving her no time to prepare. She initially departed by motorcade but was later evacuated by helicopter to an undisclosed location.
Cheering protesters stormed Hasina’s palace on Monday after her escape, marking the climax of a month of deadly anti-government protests.
Jubilant crowds, waving flags and dancing on top of a tank, flooded the streets of Dhaka on Monday morning. Hundreds then broke through the gates of Hasina’s official residence.
Bangladesh’s Channel 24 broadcast images of the crowds running into the compound, waving to the cameras in celebration.
A source close to the 76-year-old Hasina told AFP she had left her palace for a “safer place.”
Bangladesh’s army chief, Waker-Uz-Zaman, is scheduled to address the nation on Monday afternoon, a military spokesman told AFP, without providing further details. In the meantime, he said Monday he will form an interim government.
Before the protesters stormed the compound, Hasina’s son urged security forces to prevent any challenge to her 15-year rule.
“Your duty is to keep our people and our country safe, and to uphold the constitution,” her son, US-based Sajeeb Wazed Joy, said in a post on Facebook. “It means don’t allow any unelected government to come into power for one minute; it is your duty.”
Security forces backed Hasina’s government during the unrest that started last month over civil service job quotas. The unrest grew into broader demands for her resignation.
Despite curfews and deadly force, protesters persisted. At least 94 people were killed on Sunday, including 14 police officers, making it the deadliest day of the unrest.
Protesters and government supporters clashed nationwide with sticks and knives, while security forces opened fire.
Sunday’s violence raised the death toll since the protests began in early July to at least 300, according to an AFP tally.
NOW READ: Bangladesh clashes: Death toll hits 300 amid escalating protests
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