Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigns, flees country as protesters storm palace

Bangladesh protests latest updates: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and left the country on Monday, Army chief Waker uz Zaman confirmed, adding that an interim government to take over the power.

Protesters stormed her official residence on Monday afternoon, Channel 24 reported. TV images showed hundreds of people ransacking the building and taking away chicken, fish and vegetables.

BBC Bangla reported that Sheikh Hasina is heading to Tripura capital in Agartala in India.

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However, there was no official confirmation about Sheikh Hasina quitting and leaving Dhaka.

"I am taking full responsibility," the Bangladesh Army general said, dressed in military fatigues and cap, although it was not immediatly clear if he would head a caretaker government.

“We will form an interim government,” Waker said in a broadcast to the nation on state television, adding that Sheikh Hasina had resigned.

"The country has suffered a lot, the economy has been hit, many people have been killed -- it is time to stop the violence," he added.

"I hope after my speech, the situation will improve."

He said he would talk to the president to form the interim government and had held talks with the main opposition parties and civil society members -- but not Hasina's Awami League.

The prime minister - who has resigned - earlier left the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on a helicopter with her sister, according to reports.

The private Jamuna television news channel reported that Sheikh Hasina was forced to quit as prime minister after massive protests against her government over a controversial quota system that reserved 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's War of Independence in 1971.

The army chief is expected to address the nation shortly, according to reports.

The government earlier ordered a complete internet shutdown as protestors asked the general public to join a "Long March to Dhaka". However, a government agency gave a verbal order to start broadband internet around 1:15 on Monday.

Bangladesh protests: PM Sheikh Hasina resigns | What we know so far

• Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and fled the country.
• Sheikh Hasina, who has been in power since 2009, reportedly landed in Agartala, Tripura.
• Sheikh Hasina's resignation follows mass protests in Dhaka, where thousands have taken to the streets. Clashes between police and protesters have resulted in at least 98 deaths on Sunday.
• Some protesters have reportedly breached Sheikh Hasina's official residence in Dhaka.
• Over the past month, around 300 people have died as authorities cracked down on anti-government demonstrations.
• Initially starting as a student protest against civil service job quotas, the movement has evolved into a broader anti-government uprising demanding Hasina's resignation.

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