Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today resigned and left the capital Dhaka amid violent clashes as vast crowds of angry protesters demanded her resignation.

“She and her sister have left Ganabhaban (the Prime Minister’s official residence) for a safer place,” the source told AFP. “She wanted to record a speech. But she could not get an opportunity to do that,” the source said.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters defied curfew, marching on the capital’s streets and later storming the Prime Minister’s palace. Visuals showed crowds running into the premier’s official residence in Dhaka, waving to the camera as they celebrated.

Soldiers and police with armoured vehicles in Dhaka had barricaded routes to Ms Hasina’s office with barbed wire, AFP reporters said, but vast crowds flooded the streets, tearing down barriers.

Local media estimated as many as 400,000 protesters were on the streets but it was impossible to verify the figure.

Bangladesh’s army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman said an interim government will be formed after the prime minister resigned and fled the capital in the face of overwhelming protests. “We will form an interim government,” he said.

At least 98 people were killed in fierce clashes yesterday, taking the death count since protests erupted last month to over 300.

Rallies that began last month against civil service job quotas have escalated into some of the worst unrest of Prime Minister Hasina’s 15-year rule and shifted into wider calls for the 76-year-old to step down.

The demonstrations have grown into a wider anti-government movement across Bangladesh. It has attracted people from all strata of Bangladesh society, including film stars, musicians and singers. Songs calling for people’s support have spread widely on social media.

The protesters had earlier dismissed Ms Hasina’s invitation for dialogue aimed at quelling escalating violence and consolidated their demands into a unified call for her resignation.

Sheikh Hasina left in a military aircraft and is heading to an unspecified “safe space”; there are reports this will be Tripura’s Agartala, but officials at Agartala’s Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport told NDTV no military aircraft from Bangladesh is due to land at this time.
According to news agency AFP, she wanted to address the nation but the proximity of the violence meant her security detail vetoed the proposal. Bangladeshi sources told AFP her security team asked her leave, and that “she did not find any time to prepare a speech”.
In a televised address to the troubled nation, Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said the military will form an “interim government” and urged to protesters to stand down.
“There is a crisis. I have met Opposition leaders and we have decided to form an interim government to run this country. I take all responsibility and promise to protect your life and property. Your demands will be fulfilled. Please stop the violence,” he said.
Earlier today protesters broke into Gonobhaban – the Dhaka residence of the Prime Minister. But by then the veteran politician – who began a fifth term as PM this year – had fled; sources said she and her younger sister, Sheikh Rehana, left in a military helicopter.
100 people were killed and over 1,000 injured in clashes that took place between police and protesters on Sunday. The protests, which began late last month, have escalated dramatically over the past few days after a pitched battle between students and police.
The protests began over a quota system that reserves up to 30 per cent of government jobs for family members of veterans from Bangladesh’s 1971 war against Pakistan.
The demonstrations quickly grew into a wider anti-government movement that attracted people from all strata of Bangladeshi society, including film stars, musicians and singers.
The Bangladesh Supreme Court cut the reservations to 5 per cent. Student leaders then put protests on hold but it flared up after they said the government ignored their call to release all their leaders. This triggered demands for Sheikh Hasina to quit.
India’s Border Security Force is on high alert across the country’s 4,096 km border with Bangladesh. The BSF has directed field commanders to take positions “on ground”.

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