Bangladesh's prime minister flees as uprising topples government

Sheikh Hasina, who had governed Bangladesh for 15 years, resigned and fled the country on Monday as vast crowds of protesters converged on the capital Dhaka, bringing a dramatic end to her long and increasingly authoritarian rule.

Her departure capped weeks of escalating unrest that began as student protests against a quota system for government jobs and swelled into a nationwide movement against her government after a violent crackdown left hundreds dead. As demonstrators defied curfews and marched on her official residence, Hasina boarded a military helicopter and left for neighbouring India.

Jubilant crowds poured into the streets and into her abandoned residence, celebrating the fall of a leader they accused of rigging elections, suppressing dissent and presiding over corruption. The army chief announced that the military would help form an interim government.

Within days, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus was named to lead a caretaker administration tasked with restoring order and steering the country toward new elections. The transition raised both hope and uncertainty in the densely populated South Asian nation of some 170 million people.

The uprising was the latest in a series of popular movements that had toppled entrenched leaders, and it underscored the power of youth-led protest. For Bangladesh, it opened a precarious new chapter, with the challenge of rebuilding institutions after years of one-party dominance.