Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reportedly fled the country amid deadly protests over a special job quota and landed in Agartala, Tripura, India, on Monday.
According to news agency AFP, Hasina and her younger sister, Sheikh Rehana, departed from Bangabhaban around 2:30 PM on a military helicopter and reached a safe location in Agartala.
Local media reports confirm that Sheikh Hasina has resigned from her position as Prime Minister. In response to the escalating crisis, Bangladesh’s Chief of Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman confirmed Hasina’s departure and announced that an interim government will soon be formed with the participation of all political parties.
“After holding fruitful discussions with all political parties, we have decided to establish an interim government. We will now consult with President Mohammed Shahabuddin to resolve the situation,” Zaman told the Dhaka Tribune.
Reports indicate that Hasina intended to address the nation before her departure but was unable to do so.
The ongoing protests, which began over demands to end a job quota system, have resulted in significant violence, with police and doctors reporting at least 300 deaths. On Monday, protesters stormed the Prime Minister’s palace, further intensifying the crisis.
In response to the violence, the Bangladeshi government implemented a widespread internet shutdown, which affected both broadband and 4G services.
However, internet services were partially restored by Sunday afternoon. Internet outage monitor NetBlocks reported “high impact to mobile networks,” and a company supplying wholesale bandwidth confirmed the disruption of broadband and mobile internet services.
In a statement on Sunday, General Waker-Uz-Zaman urged an end to the violence and promised that the new interim government would ensure justice for those affected by the protests.
The unrest, driven by the Anti-Discriminatory Student Movement, has led to severe disruptions and widespread international attention.