DHAKA, AUG 5: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and left the country on Monday, media reports said, as more people were killed in some of the worst violence since the birth of the South Asian nation more than five decades ago.

Hasina and her sister had been taken to a “safe shelter” away from her official residence, a government source told Reuters.

“You see, the situation is very volatile. What is happening, I myself don’t know,” Law Minister Anisul Huq told Reuters.

Student activists had called for a march to the capital Dhaka on Monday in defiance of a nationwide curfew to press Hasina to resign, a day after deadly clashes across the country killed nearly 100 people.

As protesters began to march in some places, armoured personnel carriers and troops patrolled the streets of the capital, Reuters TV showed. There was little civilian traffic, barring a few motorcycles and three-wheel taxis.

At least six people were killed in clashes between police and protesters in the Jatrabari and Dhaka Medical College areas on Monday, the Daily Star newspaper reported. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Police hurled sound grenades in some parts of the city to disperse small groups of protesters, the Bengali language Prothom Alo newspaper reported.

Elsewhere, thousands of protesters had surrounded law enforcement officers stationed in front of a key building, it said.

Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, who was due to address the nation at 2pm local time (0800 GMT) would now do so at 3pm (0900 GMT), an army officer told Reuters. “He is holding talks with some stakeholders, outside the military. That’s why the delay,” the officer said.

The military spokesperson’s office had earlier said that “the public is requested to refrain from violence and be patient,” until the army chief’s address, Prothom Alo reported.

Bangladesh has been engulfed by protests and violence that began last month after student groups demanded scrapping of a controversial quota system in government jobs.

That escalated into a campaign to seek the ouster of Hasina, who won a fourth straight term in January in an election boycotted by the opposition.

At least 91 people were killed and hundreds injured on Sunday in a wave of violence across the country of 170 million people as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse tens of thousands of protesters.

Starting Sunday evening, a nationwide curfew has been imposed, the railways have suspended services and the country’s huge garments industry has closed.

Bangladesh PM’s son seeks security forces’ help
The son of Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged the country’s security forces to block any takeover from her rule.

“Your duty is to keep our people safe and our country safe and to uphold the constitution,” US-based Sajeeb Wazed Joy said in a post on Facebook.

“It means don’t allow any unelected government to come in power for one minute, it is your duty.”

Joy, who is also an information and communications technology advisor to Hasina, warned progress made by Bangladesh would be threatened if she was forced out.

“Everything of our development and progress will vanish. Bangladesh would not be able to come back from there,” he said.

“I don’t want that and you also do not want that,” he added. “Myself, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, will not let that happen as long as I can.”

A senior advisor to Hasina told AFP Monday that the resignation of the embattled leader was a “possibility” after being questioned as to whether she would quit.

“The situation is such that this is a possibility, but I don’t know how it will happen,” the aide close to the premier said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The military declared an emergency in January 2007 after widespread political unrest and installed a caretaker government for two years.

LONDON, AUG 4: The UK government on Sunday said it would offer additional emergency security teams to vulnerable mosques, and warned that violent disorder would “not be tolerated” after police made dozens of arrests at far-right rallies following clashes between protesters and officers.

Unrest linked to disinformation about a mass stabbing that killed three young girls last week spread to multiple towns and cities on Saturday as anti-immigration demonstrators faced off against counter-protesters.

About 90 people were arrested after skirmishes broke out in numerous English cities, including Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Blackpool and Hull, as well as Belfast in Northern Ireland.

A protester holding a piece of concrete walks towards riot police as clashes erupt in Bristol on August 3 during the ‘Enough is Enough’ demonstration. — AFP
In some instances, rioters threw bricks, bottles and flares at police — injuring several officers — looted and burnt shops, while demonstrators were also heard shouting anti-Islamic slurs.

In light of the escalation, the UK government announced its plan to offer greater protection to mosques at risk.

“The new rapid response process means mosques at risk of violent disorder can be offered additional security personnel, providing communities with vital support and reassurance,” the government said in a press release today.

“This will boost the work already being done by local police forces to protect these important places of worship,” it said.

“Under the new process now in place, the police, local authorities and mosques can ask for rapid security to be deployed, protecting communities and allowing for a return to worship as quickly as possible,” it added.

UK Interior Minister Yvette Cooper said nobody should make any excuses for the shameful actions of the hooligans, thugs and extremist groups who attacked police officers, looted local shops or attacked people based on the colour of their skin.

“In light of the disgraceful threats and attacks that local mosques have also faced in many communities, the government is providing rapid additional support through the Protective Security for Mosques Scheme, alongside the support from local police forces and we repeat that anyone involved in this disorder and violence will face the full force of the law,” Cooper said.

The press release said that the government had made it clear that targeted attacks on Muslim communities would not be tolerated.

“All those involved in violent disorder, including attacks on the police, local communities, arson and looting should expect to face the full force of the law,” it said.

“The new arrangements have been deployed and are already providing additional security for mosques across the country this weekend. The scheme also remains open for general applications and all those eligible are encouraged to apply,” it added.

Earlier, the government’s policing minister, Diana Johnson, told BBC News that the rioting would “not be tolerated”, and that there would be “penalties and consequences” for the disorder.

The skirmishes marked the fourth day of unrest in several towns and cities following Monday’s frenzied knife attack in Southport, near Liverpool on England’s northwest coast.

They were fuelled by false rumours on social media about the background of British-born 17-year-old suspect Axel Rudakubana, charged with several counts of murder and attempted murder over the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party.

Rudakubana is accused of killing Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9 and injuring another 10 people.

Police have blamed the violence on supporters and associated organisations of the English Defence League, an anti-Islam organisation founded 15 years ago whose supporters have been linked to football hooliganism.

Agitators have targeted mosques in Southport and in the northeastern English city of Sunderland, leading to hundreds of Islamic centres to bolster security amid fears for its worshippers’ safety.

The violence is the biggest test yet of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s short premiership. He came to power early last month after leading Labour to a landslide win over the Conservatives.

He has accused “thugs” of “hijacking” the nation’s grief to “sow hatred” and pledged that anyone carrying out violent acts would “face the full force of the law”.

After talks with senior ministers on Saturday he “reiterated that the government backs the police to take all necessary action to keep our streets safe”, said a statement from his office.

Police have warned of more demonstrations on Sunday.