Violent protests erupted across Bangladesh late on Thursday night following the announcement of the death of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi, whose role in the 2024 uprising that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government had made him a prominent political figure, while authorities struggled to contain unrest that rapidly spread across several cities.
Hadi, who was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Singapore after being shot in the head on December 12 by a masked assailant riding pillion on a motorbike, was declared dead hours before the violence broke out, triggering an outpouring of anger among supporters who viewed his killing as a targeted political assassination.
A key leader of the 2024 protests and the convener of the Inquilab Moncho, Hadi had gained wide attention through speeches circulated on social media, where his emphasis on accountability, dignity and justice resonated with citizens disillusioned by elite-driven politics and unfulfilled reform promises.
Shortly after the announcement of his death, groups of protesters stormed the offices of two leading Bangladeshi newspapers, Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, in Dhaka, vandalising the buildings and setting parts of them on fire, while equipment, including computers, monitors and furniture, was looted from The Daily Star premises.
All staff members of The Daily Star were evacuated safely by early Friday morning, although protesters remained gathered outside the office for several hours, with some seen entering the building alongside army personnel.
During the unrest, New Age editor Nurul Kabir was assaulted outside The Daily Star office when he attempted to address the crowd, and video footage later showed him being pushed and manhandled in the presence of the army, as protesters accused him of political affiliations they deemed hostile. The violence also extended beyond the capital, with an Awami League office demolished in Rajshahi and highways blocked in multiple districts.
In Chattogram, clashes between protesters and police near the Indian Assistant High Commission left at least four people injured, including two police personnel, as anti-India sentiment intensified following Hasina’s flight to New Delhi after her removal from power. Protesters elsewhere torched the home of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s first president and Hasina’s father, which had already been attacked on two occasions last year.
Bangladesh has been governed by an interim administration led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus since August 2024, and the government now faces mounting pressure amid delayed reforms and the exclusion of Hasina’s Awami League from the February 12 national election.
Yunus described Hadi’s death as an irreparable loss to the country’s political and democratic landscape, declared Saturday a day of state mourning, and pledged swift legal action against those responsible, while warning that continued violence could undermine the credibility of the electoral process.