Attackers set fire to headquarters of Bangladesh party that backed ousted leader Sheikh Hasina

Attackers set fire to Bangladesh party HQ supporting ousted leader Sheikh Hasina; no injuries reported.

Attackers set fire to the headquarters of a Bangladesh party that supported the country’s ousted leader Sheikh Hasina on Thursday (October 31, 2024) night, media reports said. There was no information if anyone was injured.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on the Jatiya Party offices in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka. TV stations and other media said the attackers stormed the party headquarters in Dhaka’s Bijoy Nagar area, clashing with party members who were there and eventually setting the premises on fire.

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The extend of the damage was not immediately known. Firefighters rushed to the scene, according to Rashed bin Khaled, an official of the Fire Service and Civil Defense. Bin Khaled, who spoke to The Associated Press by phone, had no other details.

The party is Bangladesh’s third largest and was founded by former military dictator H.M. Ershad in the 1980s.

As the attack was underway, a prominent leader of a student protest movement that led to Ms. Hasina’s ouster in August said the Jatiya Party should be “destroyed” for its support of her government.

Hasnat Abdullah, the student leader, claimed in a Facebook post that the Jatiya party was “a national betrayer.”