A top UN official had on Wednesday, called for a probe into the killings in Bangladesh during protests that led to the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The official had also clamoured for minority protection and a national process of truth and healing.
Bangladesh has in recent months, experienced rising tensions and protests.
Large demonstrations had forced Hasina to run away to India on August 5 after which an interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize winning economist Muhammad Yunus took charge.
The protests had originally begun as a student-led movement against public-sector job quotas in July. As the demonstrations grew, human-rights groups accused Hasina of using excessive force against protesters – a charge she had denied.
This current unrest has been said to be some of the deadliest since the country’s independence in 1971, as it caused over 1,000 deaths and numerous injuries, with many of the victims among protesting university and college students, according to the Bangladeshi interim health ministry.
The unrest continued even after Hasina’s flight as her party officials and supporters faced the wrath of demonstrators, with the Bangladeshi minorities among them also suffering attacks.
Türk said his office’s fact-finding mission is probing allegations of attacks against minorities that happened between August 5 and August 15.
