Dhaka. Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on Monday, ending 15 years in power as thousands of protesters defied a military curfew and stormed her official residence.

The news was confirmed by officials from the military and the Foreign Affairs Ministry, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Thousands appeared to have entered Hasina's official residence in Dhaka on Monday, following weeks of violent demonstrations and clashes with security forces.

Bangladesh's military chief Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman is expected to address the nation later today.

The protests began peacefully in late June, as students sought an end to a quota system for government jobs, but turned violent after clashes between protesters and police and pro-government activists at Dhaka University.

The government's attempts to quell the demonstrations with force, curfews, and internet shutdowns backfired, prompting further outrage as nearly 300 people were killed and leading to demands for an end to her 15 years in power.

On Sunday, nearly 100 people were killed as the protesters clashed with security officials and the ruling party activists across the country.

At least 11,000 people have been arrested in recent weeks. The unrest has also resulted in the closure of schools and universities across the country, and authorities at one point imposed a shoot-on-sight curfew.

Hasina said the protesters who engaged in "sabotage" and destruction were no longer students but criminals, and she said the people should deal with them with iron hands.

The prime minister's ruling Awami League party said the demand for her resignation showed that the protests have been taken over by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the now-banned Jamaat-e-Islami party.

The 76-year-old was elected for a fourth consecutive term in a January vote that was boycotted by her main opponents, triggering questions over how free and fair the vote was. Thousands of opposition members were jailed in the lead-up to the polls, which the government defended as democratically held.

Today, she is the longest-serving leader in the history of Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim nation of over 160 million people strategically located between India and Myanmar.


 

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