Charlie Campbell
Bangladesh’s embattled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned Monday under pressure from the military following escalating clashes between police and anti-government protesters that resulted in at least 300 deaths, including more than 90 on Sunday alone.
Reports that Hasina had stepped down circulated before Bangladesh army chief Waker-uz-Zaman confirmed the news in an address to the nation at 4 p.m. local time, prompting widespread jubilation among crowds that poured onto the street, honking car horns and waving flags.
“Prime Minister Sheik Hasina has resigned and an interim government will run the country,” army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman told the nation. He added there was no more need for a curfew or state of emergency at present but urged protesters to return home.
Barricades were removed and internet access suddenly restored as rumors circulated that Hasina had fled overseas. Even before Waker-uz-Zaman’s announcement, which was repeatedly delayed amid negotiations with political players, protesters had already stormed the Ganabhaban, the prime minister’s official residence in the capital Dhaka.
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