At least 1,300 arrested in 'Operation Devil Hunt' in Bangladesh
World
The operation will continue until all the “devils are rooted out”, Home Affairs Adviser said
DHAKA (AP/Agencies) – Authorities in Bangladesh on Sunday arrested more than 1,300 people in a joint operation of police and security forces launched to tackle the latest wave of violence across the country which saw attackers vandalising the family residence of Founding Father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Dhaka and other properties belonging to Awami League.
The operation, called ‘Operation Devil Hunt’, was launched after violent clashes injured student activists during an attack on the residence of an Awami League leader in Gazipur last week.
The violence later spread to different parts of the country.
Bangladesh’s interim government, headed by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, said on Friday it will contain vandalism and arson taking place across the country. The development comes amid concern from a major opposition party and neighboring India over attacks on a historic house linked to ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The operation will continue until all the “devils are rooted out”, Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury was quoted as saying by The Daily Star.
When asked about the objective of the operation, Jahangir said, “What does ‘devil’ mean? It refers to evil forces. The operation will target those who attempt to destabilise the country, break the law, and engage in criminal activities.”
Nasimul Ghani, senior secretary at the home ministry, told the newspaper, “This is a police-led operation, with the army and other forces providing assistance.”
“They [the joint forces] will have the same authority as the police and magistrates within the legal framework. The operation began yesterday [Saturday] and will continue for as long as necessary,” he said.
Mobs targeting supporters of Hasina have vandalized homes and businesses in various parts of the country since Wednesday night. Many of the establishments belonging to former lawmakers, Cabinet members and the leaders of Hasina’s Awami League party were set on fire, apparently as part of a coordinated campaign involving the former home of Bangladesh’s independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman — Hasina’s father — in Dhaka, the capital.
The interim government said Wednesday’s attack was sparked by Hasina for regularly making “provocative” remarks from exile to create instability in Bangladesh. The protesters started storming the house one hour before Hasina began to address her supporters from India.
Hasina fled the country to India on Aug. 5 amid a student-led mass uprising that ended her 15-year rule.
The arrests were made across metropolitan cities and other parts of the country, with 81 activists of the deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League being arrested from Gazipur. The violence erupted during an attack on the residence of former Liberation War Affairs Minister Mozammel Haque, who is one of many senior ministers and Awami League leaders on the run since the ouster of Hasina's government.
The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement leaders claimed that their activists were attacked by miscreants while trying to prevent looting at the ex-minister's house. A student was injured in a shooting by miscreants in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office.
The widespread violence that erupted across the country was sparked by a live online address by Hasina, with mobs targeting supporters of the deposed prime minister and vandalising their homes and businesses. Protesters also set fire to the historic residence of Bangladesh's founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Chief Adviser Yunus called for "complete law and order" and an end to attacks on the properties of the deposed premier's family and leaders of her "fascist" Awami League. Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) urged the interim government to curb "mob culture" and restore law and order, warning that failure to do so could lead to the reemergence of "fascist" forces.
An intelligence official in Dhaka told The Associated Press on Friday that there were reports of some 70 attacks across Bangladesh since Wednesday following the vandalism and arson in Rahman’s home. The country’s leading English-language Daily Star reported Friday that acts of violence targeting Hasina’s supporters took place in at least 20 districts. Channel 24 TV station in Dhaka reported violence in at least 35 districts across the country. The station said the village home of a veteran politician from Hasina’s party and former Bangladesh president, Abdul Hamid, was one of the targets.
Despite calls for a halt, new attacks were reported late Friday.
Since the ouster of Hasina, mobs have repeatedly declared their protest plans in advance and the actions have been aired live on social media or on many mainstream television stations. At least 80 Islamic sufi shrines have been attacked, allegedly by hard-line Islamists, according to rights groups. This week’s violence also followed allegations by a leading minority rights group that the interim government has failed to protect them, a claim denied by the authorities, who say the incidents have occurred for “political reasons” and are not related to community issues.
In a statement, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, Hasina’s main political rival, urged the Yunus-led government to “bring the situation under control.”
“Otherwise, anarchy will spread across the country,” it said.
