Chaos and celebrations after Bangladesh PM ousted

Bloodied bodies, mobs of Bangladeshis setting TV stations on fire, 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 celebration 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 killed, and to bring justice.”

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

Anti-government protesters in Shahbag (Bangladesh), near Dhaka, on August 5, 2024 © AFP – Munir UZ ZAMAN

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.

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” –

A portrait of Bangladeshi independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, destroyed in his museum, set on fire by protesters, on August 5, 2024 in Dhaka © AFP – Abu SUFIAN JEWEL

The angry crowd took revenge on the deposed leader. Some have destroyed statues of Sheikh Hasina's father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the country's independence after it separated from Pakistan in 1971.

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.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

Offices of Ms Hasina's Awami League party were torched and looted across the country, several witnesses said.

Hundreds of people stormed parliament. 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 says, comparing the current events to the war of independence against 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 the ouster of Ms Hasina.

– Palace invaded –

Thick smoke rises into the sky in Dhaka after protesters set fire to a museum on August 5, 2024 © AFP – Fahad Kaizer

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 the protesters laughing as they explored the sprawling palace in the heart of the capital, lying in the residence's beds and carrying away furniture, books and televisions.

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

Anti-government protesters vandalize the palace of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on August 5, 2024 in Dhaka © AFP – K M ASAD

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 were defaced or destroyed with hammer blows.

The army has announced that it is in charge, but many police officers, who often participated in the repression of protests in July, fear reprisals.

“Many police stations have been attacked, several police officers have been killed,” explained a senior police officer on condition of anonymity. “It's the law of the mob.”

All reproduction and representation rights reserved. © (2024) Agence France-Presse