Bangladesh PM quits and flees country as 56 more are killed in street violence

The prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, has resigned and gone abroad, the head of the army has confirmed, amid some of the worst violence since the birth of the country more than 50 years ago.

- Redwan Ahmed

There was further violence yesterday with a reported 56 deaths in the capital, Dhaka. There have been further deaths in retribution attacks the Bangladeshi newspaper Prothom Alo reported that four people died when the house of a local politician was burned down in the western city of Jhenaidah.

In a briefing to reporters, the army's chief of staff, Gen Waker-UzZaman, announced he was assuming control at "a critical time for our country" and would establish an interim government.

"I am taking responsibility now and we will go to the president and ask to form an interim government to lead the country in the meantime."

The streets of Dhaka quickly filled with people celebrating Hasina's departure but the jubilant atmosphere grew tense as the day went on with looting and arson attacks on the offices of Hasina's Awami League party and the homes of government ministers, with concerns rising about a lack of police intervention.

A statue of Hasina's father, the founding father of Bangladesh and former president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was attacked and smashed by a mob, according to witnesses, as well as a memorial on the site of his assassination in a coup in 1975.