Unrest in cities escalates after assassination, fears of further violence ahead of the national elections
\n dhaka
\nPolice and paramilitary troops fanned out across Dhaka and other cities in Bangladesh on Friday after violent protests overnight over the death of a popular youth leader, with concerns of further unrest ahead of national elections in which he was due to run.
\nStreets were calm in the morning, but residents in the Muslim-majority South Asian nation said they were worried there could be fresh violence after Friday prayers later in the day.
\nSharif Osman Hadi, 32, was a spokesperson for the Inquilab Mancha, or Platform for Revolution, and participated in the student-led protests that overthrew the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last year. He was shot in the head by masked assailants in Dhaka last Friday while launching his campaign for the elections.
\nHadi was initially treated at a local hospital before being flown to Singapore for advanced medical care, where he died after spending six days on life support.
\nHadi was an outspoken critic of India, and Inquilab Mancha describes itself on its website as a \u201crevolutionary cultural platform inspired by the spirit of uprising.\u201d
\nIn Dhaka, videos circulating on social media showed mobs vandalising the offices of the country\u2019s largest daily newspaper, Prothom Alo, as well as the Daily Star, on Thursday night.
\nThe demonstrations were marked by emotionally charged slogans invoking Hadi\u2019s name, with protesters vowing to continue their movement and demanding swift justice. Several areas remained tense, with additional police and paramilitary forces deployed to prevent further violence.
\nThe fire service said the blaze at the Daily Star was under control. Troops were deployed to the scene, and firefighters rescued journalists trapped inside the building.
\nPressure on the government
\nBangladesh has been governed by an interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus since August 2024, after Hasina fled to India following a student-led uprising.
\nThe government has been grappling with fresh protests over delayed reforms, and warnings of unrest by Hasina\u2019s party, the Awami League, which has been barred from the vote. The elections are scheduled for February 12.
\nIn a televised address to the nation following Hadi\u2019s death, Yunus said: \u201cHis passing represents an irreplaceable loss to the nation\u2019s political and democratic sphere.\u201d
\nUrging citizens to remain calm, Yunus said the government was committed to ensuring a transparent investigation and bringing all those responsible to justice. He also appealed for restraint, warning that violence would only undermine the country\u2019s path toward a credible election.
\nThe interim administration has declared Saturday a day of state mourning in honour of Hadi, with national flags to be flown at half-mast and special prayers planned across the country.
\nThe home of the country\u2019s first president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of Hasina, was vandalised and set on fire again, after having been attacked twice previously in February and August last year.
\nNew Age editor Nurul Kabir, who also heads the country\u2019s Editors\u2019 Council, was harassed by protesters outside The Daily Star building on Thursday night as they vandalised the premises, with videos showing him pushed into a crowd, verbally abused as an \u201cAwami League collaborator,\u201d and having his hair pulled.
\nIn Dhaka, the premises of the prominent Bengali cultural organisation Chhayanaut were vandalised and torched. In the northwestern district of Rajshahi, protesters demolished an Awami League party office using a bulldozer, while demonstrators blocked major highways in several other districts.
\nViolence was also reported in several cities across Bangladesh, including the port city of Chittagong, where protesters attacked the Indian Assistant High Commission and set fire to a house belonging to a former Awami League education minister.
\nThe unrest follows fresh anti-India protests earlier in the week, with ties between the neighbours deteriorating since Hasina fled to Delhi. On Wednesday, hundreds of demonstrators under the banner \u201cJuly Oikya\u201d (July Unity) marched toward the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, chanting anti-India slogans, while also demanding the return of Hasina.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Unrest in cities escalates after assassination, fears of further violence ahead of the national elections dhaka Police and paramilitary troops fanned out across Dhaka and other cities in Bangladesh on Friday after violent protests overnight over the death of a popular youth leader, with concerns of further unrest ahead of national elections in which he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":521014,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-520998","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n