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Crude bombs exploding on the streets, buses going up in flames, highways blocked and protesters clashing with police. Bangladesh is once again witnessing violence in Dhaka, Gazipur, Gopalganj, Shariatpur and other districts. Security forces have made hundreds of arrests. Behind the unrest, Bangladeshi authorities see the hand of a familiar force, the Awami League and ousted PM Sheikh Hasina. The violence comes less than a month before Hasina's planned return to Bangladesh from exile in India, which has raised fears of more mayhem in a country still recovering from the deadly protests that forced her out in August 2024.
The latest incidents were reported on Wednesday (November 11), when two buses and a truck were set ablaze in Dhaka, while a branch of Grameen Bank was torched in Pabna Sadar, according to The Daily Star. The violence followed at least 22 incidents of arson and crude bomb explosions across Bangladesh on November 9 and 10, reported the Dhaka-based newspaper The Business Standard.
At least 15 crude bomb explosions took place in Dhaka alone between November 1 and 8, according to media reports.
While Bangladesh is no stranger to large-scale street violence, the timing of these incidents is significant. Hasina, who has been living in India since leaving Bangladesh in August 2024, announced in August this year that she intended to return to her country by December. Her return could trigger fresh turmoil as she faces a death sentence, her Awami League remains banned, and her supporters and opponents remain divided over her future.
After Hasina's ouster, the Muhammad Yunus-led interim administration banned Hasina's Awami League and initiated legal proceedings over the deadly crackdown on protesters. A tribunal sentenced Hasina to death in absentia in November 2025. Despite the conviction, which she has rejected as politically motivated, Hasina now intends to return to Bangladesh. Amid the buzz of her return, fresh bomb blasts, arson and unrest have gripped the country.
The Tarique Rahman-led BNP government appeared to have brought a temporary lull in Bangladesh's political violence after the February 2026 elections, with an October UK government report noting an improvement in the country's security situation. That relative calm now appears to be giving way to renewed unrest. Since Hasina announced at a press conference in New Delhi in August that she intended to return to Bangladesh by December, the country has witnessed a spate of crude bomb blasts, arson attacks and clashes with security forces.
The incidents have become particularly frequent in late October and early November, coinciding with protests by garment factory workers demanding higher wages and escalating tensions in the country's industrial areas.
BOMBS EXPLODE, BUSES BURN ACROSS BANGLADESH
The latest wave of violence in several cities and towns in Bangladesh began gathering momentum in late October.
On October 30, Dhaka-based The Business Standard reported several crude bomb explosions near the Kalabagan bus stand in the capital. Police subsequently arrested four people and recovered 13 explosive devices.
The attacks continued into November.
According to The Daily Star, at least 15 crude bomb explosions were reported in Dhaka between November 1 and 8.
Explosions occurred near the Agargaon metro station, Dhanmondi Government Boys' High School, the July Memorial Museum and Rajarbagh Police Lines, among other locations.
On November 5, a police constable was injured when a crude bomb was hurled at a patrol vehicle near Dhaka's Kurmitola General Hospital.
The violence subsequently spread beyond the capital. Buses have been torched, and rude bombs have been hurled in Dhaka's outskirts and several other districts.
The Business Standard reported that 19 buses were set ablaze and explosions occurred at 27 locations between November 7 and 9. At least 22 more incidents involving arson and crude bomb explosions were reported across the country on November 9 and 10.
The attacks have caused multiple injuries and arrests. At least one person, a bus driver, died after becoming trapped inside a parked bus that was set on fire in Faridpur.
AWAMI LEAGUE'S BLOCKADE ADDS TO UNREST
The unrest took a more overtly political turn on November 10, when the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of Hasina's Awami League, called for a nationwide blockade.
The organisation had announced the programme through its Facebook page on November 9, urging supporters to enforce the shutdown across Bangladesh.
In Shariatpur, Awami League and Chhatra League activists blocked the Dhaka-Bhanga Expressway near the Padma Bridge toll plaza. Protesters wielded sticks, exploded crude bombs and vandalised trucks. Traffic remained disrupted for nearly an hour, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded.
In Gopalganj's Tungipara, Chhatra League activists blocked roads and set tyres on fire, triggering clashes with police.
Protesters vandalised and torched a police vehicle after security personnel attempted to disperse them using tear gas and rubber bullets.
Road blockades were also reported in Kashiani and Gopalganj town, prompting authorities to deploy six platoons of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), the country's foremost paramilitary force.
GARMENT WORKERS' PROTESTS FUEL VIOLENCE IN BANGLADESH
The reported mobilisation by the Awami League and its outfits has coincided with another major source of unrest, the protests by workers in Bangladesh's ready-made garment industry. Workers have been demanding an increase in the minimum monthly wage from Tk 12,500 to Tk 30,000. The last wage revision took place in 2023.
The demonstrations intensified in late October and early November, particularly in Dhaka, Gazipur and Savar.
Workers repeatedly clashed with police, while vehicles, factories, warehouses and other properties were vandalised or set ablaze.
Hundreds of garment factories were forced to suspend production amid the disruptions. Police subsequently filed cases over attacks on officers, vandalism, crude bomb explosions and the torching of a police vehicle. Several people were arrested, including suspects alleged to have links with the Awami League.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed accused former Awami League ministers, lawmakers and factory owners associated with the party of exploiting workers' grievances to create instability.
However, workers' demands over wages remain a separate and significant cause of the demonstrations.
AUTHORITIES BLAME HASINA'S AWAMI LEAGUE FOR VIOLENCE
Bangladeshi authorities have repeatedly pointed fingers at the banned Awami League and its affiliated organisations over the recent spate of violence, alleging that the party's supporters are attempting to destabilise the country.
On November 8, Additional Inspector General of Police (Crime and Operations) Mohammad Sayedur Rahman directly accused the Awami League of orchestrating the crude bomb explosions and bus arson attacks. "These incidents are clearly intended to destabilise the government and create panic among the public," The Daily Star quoted him as saying.
The police have also made a series of arrests in connection with the attacks. According to The Daily Star, at least 21 people were arrested over crude bomb explosions between November 1 and 7, while 898 people linked to the Awami League were arrested in separate ongoing police drives during the same period.
Five Awami League affiliates were also arrested over explosions in Dhaka in the 24 hours preceding November 8. On November 10, police spokesperson Mohammad Akhtar Hossain told the Associated Press that at least 33 people had been arrested in Dhaka, with further arrests elsewhere. He said those involved were linked to a banned organisation and its affiliated groups, adding that some had allegedly been paid to carry out the attacks.
The allegations of political involvement have also extended to the garment workers' unrest. Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed alleged that former Awami League leaders and factory owners linked to the outlawed party were exploiting workers' grievances to create instability.
PM Rahman's Information Adviser Zahed Ur Rahman subsequently acknowledged that the banned Awami League was linked to violence surrounding the protests. However, he explicitly rejected the suggestion that the unrest was part of an attempt to facilitate Sheikh Hasina's return in December.
VIOLENCE HEAD OF SHEIKH HASINA'S PLANNED RETURN
The developments come as Hasina steps up her efforts to return to Bangladesh from India, where she has been living since fleeing Dhaka in August 2024. At a press conference in New Delhi on August 5, she said, describing it as Bangladesh's "victory month".
She reiterated the commitment in subsequent interviews, including one with the Associated Press earlier this month, saying she intended to return despite the risk of arrest, imprisonment and even death. For context, Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia by the country's Crimes Tribunal for Crime Against Humanity.
On November 9, her lawyers also approached the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi seeking a new passport and national identity card to facilitate her return. However, Dhaka rejected the request, insisting that Hasina must be brought back through the India-Bangladesh extradition treaty rather than return on her own terms.
Hasina's planned return comes amid deep political divisions. The Awami League is banned, and a death sentence is hanging over her. Her arrival could reignite tensions between her supporters and security forces, which raises fears of another wave of unrest.
With Hasina's planned return drawing closer, the renewed violence has emerged as a major challenge for the Tarique Rahman government, which had promised to restore stability after years of political turmoil. While authorities have blamed the Awami League for much of the unrest, the garment workers' protests suggest that economic grievances are also fuelling tensions in the nation. For Bangladesh, the latest turmoil has revived fears of another period of instability even before Hasina sets foot in the country.
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