Dhaka’s Shahjalal Airport Shuts Down Amid Escalating Unrest In Bangladesh

Amid the intensified protest in Bangladesh, Shahjalal International Airport has closed its operations for six hours, reported Bangladesh local media ProthomAlo. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) announced this information in a circular on Monday.

The protests, majorly by students, demanded an end to a quota system for government jobs and had grown into an uprising against Hasina and her ruling Awami League party. At least 95 people, including at least 14 police officers, died and hundreds of people were injured in clashes in Dhaka on Sunday, local media outlet Prothom Alo reported.

However, earlier today, shortly after it was reported that Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her sister had fled Bangladesh amid ongoing violence in the country, security agencies in India began monitoring a C-130 Aircraft with call sign AJAX1431 as it flew in close proximity from the Indian border.

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Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman will soon hold direct talks with student-teacher representatives. This information was informed in a circular of the Directorate of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Monday evening.

Moreover, protests and incidents of vandalism were reported from the streets of Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka on Monday.

Visuals aired on TV, local media, and social media platforms showed people ransacking Sheikh Hasina’s official residence and taking away eatables. People were also seen storming into the parliament building and decamping with things.

Shortly after the 76-year-old leader, accompanied by her sister, left the country in a military helicopter, Bangladesh’s military chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman urged protestors to shun violence. The army chief announced that an interim government would soon be formed.

Earlier on August 3, organizers of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement announced a single-point demand for the resignation of Hasina and her cabinet members. The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement’s announcement came after Bangladesh PM Hasina urged the agitating students to sit with her at Gono Bhaban to end the violence focused on the quota reform protests.

Today, the residence of the Chief Justice of the country was also vandalized, Prothom Alo reported. Several people were seen entering the Chief Justice’s residence located on 19 Hair Road by climbing over the wall. Screams could be heard from inside, and reports of vandalism were also coming in, the media outlet reported.

The Army chief, in a televised address on Monday, said that now the political transition period is going on and an interim government will be formed. The Army chief said to the people, “Maintain peace and order in the country. You trust me, let’s work together. Please help, we won’t get anything by fighting. Avoid conflict. We have built a beautiful country together.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Newsx staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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