Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned from her post and left the capital Dhaka amid violent clashes, a source close to the leader told AFP.
“She and her sister left Ganabhaban (the prime minister’s official residence) for a safer place,” a source told AFP.
“She wanted to record a speech. But she couldn’t get a chance to do that.”
It comes as Bangladeshi army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman prepares to address the nation after 98 people were killed in fierce clashes yesterday – the deadliest day in weeks of anti-government protests.
Earlier, the resignation of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is “possible”, French news agency AFP reported on Monday, as six more people were killed in the worst violence since the South Asian nation’s birth more than five decades ago.
Hasina’s resignation is “possible,” AFP reported, citing a senior adviser. Hasina and her sister were taken to a “safe haven” far from her official residence, a government source told Reuters.
“You see, the situation is very unstable. I don’t know what is happening myself,” Law Minister Anisul Huq told Reuters.
Student activists called for a march to the capital Dhaka on Monday despite a nationwide curfew to call on Hasina to resign, a day after deadly clashes across the country killed nearly 100 people.
As protesters began to march in some places, armored personnel carriers and soldiers patrolled the streets of the capital, Reuters television reported. There was little civilian traffic except for a few motorbikes and three-wheeled taxis.
At least six people were killed in clashes between police and protesters in the Dhatrabari and Dhaka Medical College areas on Monday, the Daily Star newspaper reported. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Police in some parts of the city lobbed stun grenades to disperse small groups of protesters, the Bengali-language Prothom Alo newspaper reported.
Elsewhere, thousands of protesters surrounded police stationed outside a key building.
Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, who was scheduled to address the nation at 2 p.m. local time (0800 GMT) would now do so at 3:00 p.m. (0900 GMT), an army officer told Reuters. That is the reason for the delay,” the officer said.
The military spokesman’s office had earlier said that “the public is asked to refrain from violence and be patient” pending the army chief’s speech, Prothom Alo said.
Bangladesh has been gripped by protests and violence that began last month after student groups demanded the abolition of a controversial quota system for government jobs.
That escalated into a campaign to oust Hasina, who won a fourth consecutive term in January in elections boycotted by the opposition.
A nationwide curfew has been in place since Sunday evening, railways have suspended operations and the country’s huge garment industry has shut down.
