Chaos and celebrations after Bangladesh PM ousted

Photo: K M Asad Agence France-Presse A symbolic target for the protesters was the official residence of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, which they stormed on Monday.

Eyamin Sajid – Agence France-Presse in Dhaka

Published at 14:49

• Asia

Bloodied bodies, mobs of Bangladeshis setting fire to television stations, protesters lounging in beds at the prime minister’s residence: Witnesses described scenes of chaos after the leader fled Monday and the military seized power.

Sheikh Hasina’s fall from power after 15 years was a moment to celebrate for some protesters, who climbed to the roof of her official residence to wave flags after she fled abroad by helicopter.

“I can’t express my feelings in words, I’m so happy,” said Mohammad Bashir, 35, one of millions of Bangladeshis who took to the streets when the army chief said he was forming a caretaker government. “My only wish now is to take care of all the families of the people and students who were killed, and to bring justice.”

Social media was flooded with messages from people wishing each other “Happy Independence Day.”

But in the corridors of Dhaka University Hospital, an AFP journalist saw bodies lying in pools of blood. At least 66 people were killed Monday, after a month of deadly protests that left at least 366 dead.

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Among the 44 bodies counted at the hospital, most were young men, almost all with gunshot wounds.

Police said several officers were also killed.

“Liberated”

The angry mob took revenge on the ousted leader. Some tore down statues of Sheikh Hasina's father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the country's independence after it split from Pakistan in 1971.

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A museum dedicated to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was also set ablaze. The sight of flames licking his portraits was unthinkable just hours earlier, when Ms. Hasina still had the loyalty of the security forces to maintain her autocratic rule.

Offices of Ms. Hasina's Awami League party have been torched and looted across the country, according to several witnesses.

Hundreds of people stormed the parliament building. Televisions showed protesters cheering wildly, jumping on tables and setting off what looked like smoke bombs.

Sazid Ahnaf, 21, took to the streets in Dhaka to celebrate the “proud moment.”

“I feel so happy that our country is liberated,” he said, comparing the current events to the war of independence from Pakistan. “We have been liberated from a dictatorship.” This is a Bengali uprising, what we saw in 1971 [when independence was declared] and what we are seeing now in 2024.”

What started as a student movement against a system that reserved a quota of government jobs for the families of independence veterans, amid acute unemployment among graduates, has evolved into mass rallies demanding Sheikh Hasina’s ouster.

Palace invaded

A symbolic target for the protesters was the official residence of the former prime minister, who returned to power in 2009 after a first term between 1996 and 2001.

Television showed protesters laughing as they explored the sprawling palace in the heart of the capital, lying in the residence's beds and taking furniture, books and televisions with them.

The kitchen was ransacked, with the crowd happily devouring the food found there. Even ornamental fish from the vast gardens were netted, with some brandishing their catches for the cameras.

Others posed with animals found in the former prime minister's residence, including rabbits and goats.

There, too, murals and statues of Ms Hasina’s father have been defaced or smashed with hammers.

The military has said it is in charge, but many police officers, who often took part in cracking down on protests in July, fear reprisals.

“Many police stations have been attacked, several police officers have been killed,” said a senior police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity. “It’s mob rule.”