Fresh violence has gripped Bangladesh, with hundreds of protesters in capital Dhaka demanding the resignation of president Mohammed Shahabuddin, elected unopposed under former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s administration.
Protesters tried to storm the presidential palace on Tuesday and into Wednesday night, trying to break through a security cordon and breach the compound. The protesters were, however, blocked by military barricades.
Dozens of people, including police officers and journalists, were injured, with at least 14 people being treated in hospital.
The protests began after an interview given by Mr Shahabuddin to a Bengali-language newspaper in which he raised questions over the resignation letter of Ms Hasina.
Mr Shahabuddin told the Manab Zamin daily that he had only heard about Ms Hasina’s resignation and had not seen the letter. He said he tried to collect it “many times but failed”. He added: “Maybe she did not have the time.”
The statement caused outrage in the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government and among student protesters who claimed Mr Shahabuddin contradicted his own statement on 5 August when he said he had received her letter.
According to Bangladesh’s constitution, an elected prime minister is required to submit their resignation in writing to the president. Mr Shahabuddin was appointed to his position by parliament after Ms Hasina’s re-election as prime minister for a fourth consecutive term in January.
The protesters accused Mr Shahabuddin of collaborating with Ms Hasina’s “fascist regime”.
Dhaka police deputy commissioner Talebur Rahman said at least 25 police officers were injured during the clashes and at least 30 other people received injuries.
“The situation is now calm, and there is adequate security in place,” he added.
Bangladesh’s interim government has banned the student wing of Ms Hasina’s political party as fresh protests in the country led to escalated tensions.
The Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), student arm of Ms Hasina’s Awami League, has been declared as a “terrorist organisation”, Bangladesh’s ministry of home affairs said.
Banning the BLA was one of the five demands of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, which also demanded the abolishment of the current constitution and the removal of Mr Shahabuddin.
The ministry said the BLA has a history of serious misconduct over the past 15 years, including violence, harassment, and exploitation of public resources.
The ban under the Anti-Terrorism Act takes effect immediately, it said in a gazette notification issued late on Wednesday.
The ministry added that the BLA members attacked protesting students and the public with arms and accused it of the deaths of innocent people.
The fresh protests were part of large-scale summer demonstrations across Bangladesh that forced Ms Hasina to end her 15-year long grip on power and flee to India on 5 August.
The protests, which began as a student-led movement against public sector job quotas in July, escalated into some of the deadliest unrest in the history of Bangladesh since independence in 1971, resulting in more than 700 deaths and numerous injuries.
