Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and economist, was appointed to lead Bangladesh’s interim government on Tuesday night. This followed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation and escape from the country amid a violent student-led uprising.
After being released from jail, BNP leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia voiced her concerns over the nationwide violence, vandalism, and looting of state resources due to the student unrest, according to Dhaka Tribune.
Reports indicated that at least 24 people, including an Indonesian national, were burned alive by a mob at a hotel owned by an Awami League leader. This occurred after Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled. The victims, mostly hotel guests, were burned late Monday night when a mob set fire to Zabir International Hotel, owned by district Awami League general secretary Shahin Chakladar in the Joshor district, according to report.
At least 24 people were killed, and more than 150 hospitalized yesterday after protesters sat the Zabeer International Hotel on fire in Jashore, Bangladesh 🇧🇩
▪︎ 5 August 2024 ▪︎#Bangladesh #BangladeshProtests #Jashore #ZabeerInternationalHotel pic.twitter.com/ADexMk0K1u
— DISASTER TRACKER (@DisasterTrackHQ) August 6, 2024
A Hindu association in Bangladesh claimed that hundreds of Hindu houses, businesses, and temples have been vandalized since Sheikh Hasina‘s ouster. Hindus make up about 8% of Bangladesh’s 170 million people and have largely supported Hasina’s Awami League party, which is seen as secular, unlike the opposition, which includes a hardline Islamist party.
Key Updates on Sheikh Hasina’s Resignation:
Sheikh Hasina’s plan to travel to London has faced delays, and she is not expected to leave India for the next few days. She arrived at Hindon airbase in India on Monday in a C-130J military transport aircraft and has been moved to an undisclosed location under tight security.
Muhammad Yunus was appointed by President Mohammed Shahabuddin to lead the interim government after consultations with student leaders and military chiefs, according to local media.
Yunus, aged 84, and his Grameen Bank won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for their work in alleviating poverty through microcredit. Student leaders had requested Yunus as the chief adviser to the interim government, and Yunus agreed, though he is currently in Paris for a medical procedure and will return to Dhaka soon.
In a tragic incident, doctors at Joshor General Hospital confirmed finding 24 bodies in the debris of Zabir International Hotel. Surviving hotel staff feared more bodies could be found. Media reports suggest that an unidentified mob, opposing the Awami League regime, set the hotel’s ground floor on fire, which quickly spread to the upper floors.
Similar incidents were reported across the country, with angry mobs vandalizing the homes and businesses of Awami League leaders and activists, including the party’s central office in Bangabandhu Avenue, Dhaka.
Khaleda Zia emphasized the need to protect the country’s resources during a meeting with Maulana Mamunul Haque, secretary general of Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis. She stated, “Our state’s resources are being wasted. This country is ours; we have to build this country.”
India, now sheltering Sheikh Hasina after she fled deadly protests, expressed concern over the attacks on minorities. The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) reported that 200-300 Hindu homes and businesses had been vandalized since Monday, and 15-20 Hindu temples damaged. Up to 40 people have been injured, though not seriously, according to its general secretary, Rana Dasgupta, according to the source.
