Here are the key points regarding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation and departure from Bangladesh:
- Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on Monday, ending her 15-year rule, after thousands of protesters defied a military curfew and stormed her official residence in Dhaka.
- Hasina boarded a military helicopter with her sister and fled the country, reportedly to India.
- Bangladesh’s army chief Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman announced plans to seek the president’s guidance on forming an interim government. He promised the military would investigate the deadly crackdowns on protesters and punish those responsible.
- The protests began peacefully in July as students demanded an end to a quota system for government jobs, but escalated into a broader uprising against Hasina’s rule.
- At least 300 people have been killed since the protests started, with 95 deaths reported on Sunday alone in clashes between protesters and security forces in Dhaka. Over 11,000 people have been arrested in the crackdown.
- Authorities shut down mobile internet and briefly cut off broadband in attempts to curb the unrest. Hasina had characterized protesters engaged in “sabotage” as criminals, not students.
- The 76-year-old Hasina was elected to a fourth consecutive term in January in a vote boycotted by the opposition. Her critics accused her of growing increasingly authoritarian.