Dhaka, Bangladesh – The air crackled with tension in Mouchak, a central district of Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka. It was Friday, July 19, and the streets were already filled with tens of thousands of protesters, their fury heightened by the deadly events of the previous day. A brutal police crackdown and clashes with activists of the governing Awami League party had claimed the lives of dozens of students, pushing the city to its limits.
The usual tranquility of the weekly Jummah prayer, a time for Muslim peaceful reflection, was hours away. Right then, the atmosphere was charged with unrest. Police, overwhelmed and outnumbered, retreated amid a barrage of stones, using tear gas and sound grenades in a desperate bid to maintain control amid mounting chaos.
