Military Takes Over Bangladesh as Sheikh Hasina Resigns, Lands in Agartala; Protesters Storm Palace | Top Points

Protesters wave national flags as they stand over the Anti Terrorism Raju Memorial Sculpture during a protest in Dhaka. (AFP)

In a broadcast to the nation on state television, Bangladesh's army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman said on Monday that Hasina had resigned and the military would form an interim government

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule ended on Monday as she fled weeks of deadly protests and landed in India amid the military announcing that it would form an interim government. Since early July, Hasina had sought to quell nationwide protests against her government, but she fled after a brutal day of unrest on Sunday in which nearly 100 people died.

In a broadcast to the nation on state television, Bangladesh’s army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman said on Monday that Hasina had resigned and the military would form an interim government. “The country has suffered a lot, the economy has been hit, many people have been killed — it is time to stop the violence,” Waker said. “I hope after my speech, the situation will improve.”

Here are the latest updates on the situation in Bangladesh:

• Hasina, 76, fled the country by helicopter, shortly after protesters had stormed her palace in Dhaka. She landed in Agartala, India, a short while ago.

• Jubilant crowds had waved flags, some dancing on top of a tank in the streets on Monday morning before hundreds broke through the gates of Hasina’s official residence. Bangladesh’s Channel 24 broadcast images of crowds running into the compound, waving to the camera as they celebrated. Others smashed a statue of Hasina’s father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s independence hero.

• Before the protesters had stormed the compound, Hasina’s son urged the country’s security forces to block any takeover. “Your duty is to keep our people safe and our country safe and to uphold the constitution,” her son, 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.”

• Security forces had supported Hasina’s government throughout the unrest, which began last month against civil service job quotas then escalated into wider calls for her to stand down.

• At least 94 people were killed on Sunday, including 14 police officers, in the deadliest day of the unrest. Protesters and government supporters countrywide battled each other with sticks and knives, and security forces opened fire. The day’s violence took the total number of people killed since protests began in early July to at least 300.

Catch the latest developments on Bangladesh’s political unrest in our live blog.