Attackers set hearth to headquarters of Bangladesh social gathering that backed ousted chief Sheikh Hasina

Unidentified attackers vandalize an workplace of the Jatiya Occasion that supported the nation’s ousted chief Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka, Bangladesh, October 31, 2024 | Picture credit score: AP

Attackers set hearth to the headquarters of a Bangladesh social gathering supporting the nation’s ousted chief Sheikh Hasina on Thursday (Oct 31, 2024) night time, media studies mentioned. There was no phrase if anybody was injured.

Nobody instantly claimed duty for the assault on the Jatiya Occasion places of work within the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka. Tv stations and different media mentioned the attackers broke into the social gathering headquarters within the Bijoy Nagar space of ​​Dhaka, clashed with social gathering members there and ultimately set the premises on hearth.

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The extent of the harm was not instantly identified. Firefighters rushed to the scene, in line with Rashed bin Khaled, a Hearth Service and Civil Protection official. Bin Khaled, who spoke to The Related Press by cellphone, didn’t present additional particulars.

The social gathering is the third largest in Bangladesh and was based by former navy dictator HM Ershad within the Nineteen Eighties.

Because the assault unfolded, a distinguished chief of a pupil protest motion that led to Hasina’s ouster in August mentioned the Jatiya Occasion must be “destroyed” for its assist of his authorities.

Hasnat Abdullah, the scholar chief, claimed in a Fb put up that the Jatiya Occasion was “a nationwide traitor.”

Abdullah belongs to the Pupil Motion Towards Discrimination, which led the July protests. He additionally urged college students to assemble at Dhaka College and march in the direction of the Jatiya Occasion headquarters.

Mujibul Haque Chunnu, basic secretary of the social gathering, blamed the scholars for the assault. “Individuals are watching what they do with us,” he mentioned. “It is dwell on social media…they’re doing it publicly, overtly.”

Hasina’s Bangladesh Awami League social gathering dominated the nation for 15 years, beginning in 2009. Critics mentioned the Jatiya Occasion had acted to present Hasina’s authorities a veneer of democracy, as different main political events didn’t take part within the elections.