Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Flees Bangladesh Amid Deadly Protests: Military Takes Control

Bangladesh’s political landscape took a dramatic turn on Monday as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule came to an abrupt end. Facing intense pressure from nationwide protests and escalating violence, Hasina fled the country, leaving the military to announce the formation of an interim government.

The turmoil, which had been simmering since early July, erupted into chaos on Sunday, marking one of the bloodiest days in the country’s recent history. Nearly 100 lives were lost in clashes between protesters, government supporters, and security forces.

In a national broadcast on state television, Bangladesh's army chief, Waker-Uz-Zaman, confirmed Hasina’s resignation and the military’s plans to take charge. “The country has suffered a lot, the economy has been hit, many people have been killed — it is time to stop the violence,” Waker stated. He expressed hope that the situation would stabilize following his speech.

Hasina, 76, reportedly fled by helicopter after protesters stormed her palace in Dhaka. According to a source close to the leader, she initially escaped by motorcade before being flown out of the country. The destination of her escape remains unknown.

As news of her departure spread, jubilant crowds flooded the streets of Dhaka. In a striking scene broadcasted by Bangladesh's Channel 24, protesters were seen waving flags, dancing atop military tanks, and eventually breaking through the gates of Hasina's official residence. In an act of defiance, some even destroyed a statue of Hasina's father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a revered figure in Bangladesh's history as the country's independence hero.

Before the palace was overrun, Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, who is based in the United States, made a desperate plea on Facebook to the country’s security forces. "Your duty is to keep our people safe and our country safe and to uphold the constitution," he urged. "It means don't allow any unelected government to come in power for one minute, it is your duty."

Throughout the unrest, security forces had stood by Hasina's government, but Sunday’s violence seemed to mark a turning point. The day’s death toll brought the total number of fatalities since the protests began in July to at least 300, with 14 police officers among the dead.

The protests initially erupted over a controversial quota system for government jobs, which allocated more than half of the positions to specific groups. Despite the scheme being scaled back by Bangladesh’s top court, public outrage grew, transforming into widespread calls for Hasina’s resignation.

Monday’s events echoed a similar crisis in January 2007, when the military declared a state of emergency after widespread political unrest, leading to a two-year military-backed caretaker government. Hasina, who had been in power since 2009, won her fourth consecutive election in January under controversial circumstances, with accusations from rights groups that her government had abused state institutions to consolidate power and silence dissent.

As vast crowds continued to swell on the streets, one protest leader, Asif Mahmud, declared, "The time has come for the final protest." The sheer scale of the unrest, with some estimates suggesting as many as 400,000 protesters in Dhaka alone, overwhelmed the military's attempts to maintain order.

In a rare public rebuke of the government, former army chief General Ikbal Karim Bhuiyan demanded the immediate withdrawal of troops and called for those responsible for the crisis to be held accountable. "Those who are responsible for pushing the people of this country to a state of such extreme misery will have to be brought to justice," Bhuiyan asserted.

The anti-government movement had drawn support from across Bangladeshi society, including prominent film stars, musicians, and cultural figures, highlighting the depth of discontent with Hasina's administration.

As Bangladesh faces an uncertain future, the world watches closely to see how the military’s interim government will navigate the country through this crisis and what the implications will be for democracy in the South Asian nation of 170 million people.