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“Twin jailbreaks in Bangladesh killed at least 12 inmates and freed hundreds more in the chaotic days after the ouster of autocratic premier Sheikh Hasina,” officials told AFP on Saturday (August 10, 2024).

An interim government is struggling to restore law and order, with police going on strike after Ms. Hasina’s sudden resignation and flight abroad after 15 years in power.

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This week’s prison escapes, both north of the capital Dhaka, are the latest in a series of breakouts during weeks of nationwide unrest leading up to her toppling.

“Six convicts were killed at Jamapur Prison on Thursday (August 8, 2024) after prison guards were assaulted by escapees,” warden Abu Fatah told AFP.

“They attacked us with iron rods and sharp weapons. They torched my office. Then try to break out and take all 600 prisoners with them,” he said. “We were forced to open fire. At least six inmates were killed, including one who was stabbed to death.”

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Fatah said guards managed to quell the attack before anyone escaped.

“On Tuesday (August 6, 2024), another six prisoners were shot dead during a mass breakout at a high-security prison in Kashimpur, just 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of Dhaka,” warden Lutfor Rahman told AFP.

Rahman said the inmates used iron tools and rebar rods to attack guards and broke through the jail’s main gate, forcing army soldiers and jail guards to open fire. “At least 203 prisoners also managed to escape,” he said.

Kashimpur High Security Prison hosts some of Bangladesh’s most notorious convicts, including Islamist extremists and murderers. Rahman said none of the high-profile inmates had managed to break out of their cells.

Numerous attempted and successful jailbreaks have taken place across Bangladesh since protests against Hasina’s government began last month.

More than 800 prisoners fled a jail in the central district of Narsingdi in July when a mob of thousands attacked the British colonial era institution and set the warden’s office on fire.

On Monday (August 5, 2024), the day of Hasina’s ouster, more than 500 inmates fled a jail in the northern district of Sherpur.

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More than 450 people died during weeks of clashes between police and protesters leading up to Hasina’s ouster, including dozens of police officers. Police unions declared a strike on Tuesday (August 6, 2024) and said officers would not resume duty until their safety was assured.

“More than half of the country’s police stations have since reopened,” according to the force.

Anti-quota protesters clash with the police in Dhaka on July 19, 2024. Police in Bangladesh’s capital banned all public rallies on July 19, a day after the deadliest round of student protests so far saw government buildings torched by demonstrators and the imposition of a nationwide internet blackout.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Student protesters in the central Bangladeshi district of Narsingdi stormed a jail Friday and freed hundreds of inmates before setting it on fire, a police officer told AFP.

“The inmates fled the jail and the protesters set the jail on fire,” the police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “I don’t know the number of inmates, but it would be in the hundreds.”

Moushumi Sarker, a senior government official in Narsingdi district, confirmed the jailbreak to AFP but did not give further details.

A resident of Narsingdi who lives near the jail and gave his name as Ripon told AFP he saw at least 20 men leaving the facility carrying their belongings in handbags.

At least 50 people have been killed in Bangladesh this week after police heightened a crackdown on student protests calling for reforms to public service hiring rules.