Bangladeshi PM Flees Country in Popular Uprising

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh has resigned, and the army will oversee the formation of an interim government, the country’s army chief said in a statement to the nation.

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Ms. Hasina, 76, had ruled Bangladesh since 2009. She was forced out by weeks of protests that began peacefully and then transformed into deadly clashes with security forces. The army chief, Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman, said he had consulted the country’s political parties and civil society before making his announcement.

The student-led protests grew into a broader movement seeking the removal of Ms. Hasina, who was seen as an increasingly authoritarian leader. On Sunday, the deadliest day of the protests, almost 100 people were reported killed in clashes between security forces and demonstrators across Bangladesh.

Ed Morrissey

The mob has ransacked the PM's residence in her absence. "Nothing is left there," one demonstrator told reporters. No one knows where Hasina actually is at the moment, either. Nor do we know what will follow in the vacuum she leaves behind. 

One also has to wonder whether the Iranian mullahs are watching this unfold with no small amount of trepidation. 

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