Violence continues in Bangladesh after youth protest leader’s death

A shocking and unprecedented attackpublished at 08:56 GMT

08:56 GMT

Anbarasan Ethirajan
Global Affairs Reporter

What happened last night was unprecedented and
shocking.

For the first time in the 35 years since it started, The Daily Star could not publish the print edition today, Kamal Ahmed, consulting editor at the national English daily, told me. Based on the extent of damage, it will likely be “inoperable for a while”, he said.

The Daily Star and Bengali daily Prothom Alo, which was also attacked, are the two go-to outlets whenever big news breaks in
Bangladesh. The two organisations had survived pressure and threats from various governments over the years – particularly from the administration of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Image source, BBC BanglaImage caption,

The aftermath of Thursday night’s attack on The Daily Star

It’s a miracle that no one was seriously injured in the attacks.

“Twenty-eight of our colleagues were trapped in the roof top of the building for hours… They were gasping for fresh air,” Ahmed said. “They were rescued only after additional military reinforcement came”

Amid the hours-long attacks, social media was abuzz with one big question: Where are the police and government?