Bangladesh Prime Minister Flees As Protesters Invade Seat Of Power

Bangladesh Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, has resigned and fled the country over deadly protests that rocked the country for weeks.

It was learnt that the longtime leader of the country boarded a military helicopter, an aide told Al Jazeera after crowds ignored a national curfew and stormed the prime minister’s palace.

According to reports, close to 300 people have died in the weeks of protest the authorities tried to crush.

More people were reported killed in one of the worst violence since the birth of the South Asian nation more than five decades ago.

It was reported that Hasina is heading for Tripura, the capital of Agartala in India. However, there was no official confirmation about Hasina quitting and leaving Dhaka.

Hasina, 76, and her sister earlier took a military to India’s eastern state of West Bengal.

The PM was said to have been forced to quit after massive protests against her government over a controversial quota system that reserved 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s War of Independence in 1971.

Chief of Army Staff, General Waker-Uz-Zaman has canceled his planned address and is instead holding talks with major political parties, including the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Images on national television showed thousands of people breaking into the prime minister’s official residence.

It also showed large crowds of protesters out on the street in scenes of jubilation as the news of the departure of Hasina started spreading.

An Al Jazeera reporter from Shahbag Square, the epicenter of the student protesters, said he has “never witnessed something like this” in the capital.

“Students and families with their children out celebrating, checking if she has either left the country or resigned,” Chowdhury said.

“The government has most likely fallen, and the army will decide what the next step is, which is probably an interim government,” he added.