The prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, has resigned and left the country, the head of the army has confirmed, amid some of the worst violence since the birth of the south Asian country more than 50 years ago.
In a briefing to reporters, Army Chief Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman announced he was assuming control at “a critical time for our country” and would establish an interim government.
“I am taking responsibility now and we will go to the president and ask to form an interim government to lead the country in the meantime.”
Hasina, 76, who has ruled Bangladesh since 2009, left by helicopter, a source close to the leader told Agence France-Presse news agency shortly after protesters had stormed her palace in the capital, Dhaka.
Celebrations erupted among the crowds who had been on the streets of Dhaka for another day of protests.
The internet was cut for several hours overnight and residents told the Guardian of raids and gunshots, including in the most affluent areas, before a planned mass protest called for Monday.
Hasina’s government was accused by rights groups of misusing state institutions to entrench its hold on power and stamp out dissent, including through the killing of opposition activists.
The latest student-led protests began over a quota system they said disproportionately allocated government jobs to the descendants of freedom fighters from the 1971 independence war.
The government’s harsh crackdown on protests has led to hundreds of deaths, which continued despite the supreme court overturning the quota law. Agence France-Presse reported there had been 94 deaths on Sunday.
The demonstrations escalated despite the scheme having been scaled back by Bangladesh’s top court. The anti-government movement had attracted people from across society – including actors, musicians and singers – in the south Asian country of about 170 million people.
During the briefing at army headquarters, Zaman promised an investigation into the deaths.
A curfew was put in place on Monday and offices and factories were closed but protesters have still taken to the streets. Bangladeshi TV channels showed jubilant demonstrators dancing and chanting at locations across Dhaka.
One protester sent the Guardian a video of a crowd marching and shouting in celebration, some of them waving Bangladeshi flags, near Shahbagh, where protesters had planned to gather.
“I feel out of this world, we’re dancing in the streets now,” she said. “People are celebrating, singing, dancing. I’ve never seen this many tears of joy. People are smiling and crying at the same time.”
The celebrations have in some places turned unruly, with thousands raiding the prime minister’s residence and seen looting items, including vegetables from the gardens and live fish from the ponds in the grounds. Cars could be seen burning inside the compound. There has been vandalism on several offices of Hasina’s party, the Awami League, across the capital city, with at least one being set on fire.
A statue of Hasina’s father, the founding father of Bangladesh and former President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was also attacked and smashed by a mob, according to witnesses.
Badiul Alam Majumdar, a civil society activist, who founded the group Citizens for Good Governance, said people hugged him as he walked the streets.
“These are the heroes and heroines,” he said, referring to protesting students. “We had a crazy dictator. What we are now concerned about is who will benefit from this revolution? And that, in fact, is what we are watching – a revolution.”
The sense of jubilation has been tempered by concern about instability because of the chaos on the streets. The army has announced Dhaka airport will be closed for six hours.
Hasina is the longest-serving leader in the history of the predominantly Muslim country. Before being elected in 2009, in a vote boycotted by the opposition, she had already been prime minister between 1996 and 2001.
Her political opponents have accused her of growing increasingly autocratic and called her a threat to democracy.
Her father, the independence leader of Bangladesh, was assassinated in 1975 during an army coup. Most of his family members were killed, with the exception of his two daughters, Hasina and Sheikh Rehana. Regional media reported Monday afternoon that the two sisters had now fled to India with tens of thousands of people tracking a Hercules military plane thought to be hers.
