Residents attack Bangladesh air force base and clash with soldiers, leaving 1 dead

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Residents in southern Bangladesh on Monday attacked an air force base following an altercation, prompting soldiers from the base to open fire, killing at least one person and injuring several others, local media reported.

The military in a statement blamed “miscreants” for attacking the base in the city of Cox's Bazar. The country's largest English-language newspaper, the Daily Star, reported one dead.

The violence broke out after soldiers challenged a man on a motorbike for not wearing his helmet, according to the Bengali-language Prothom Alo newspaper.

The military in a later statement said a local had been brought inside the base for questioning as he did not have the necessary documents for his motorbike.

It said about 200 people from nearby Samitipara advanced on the base while military personnel blocked their path, and a clash ensued, with stones thrown.

The military said several personnel were injured. It said they fired blank rounds, not live ammunition, at the residents.

Bangladesh, run by an interim government led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, has faced challenges in establishing order since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August by an uprising led by students. Mob justice has become a concern.

Also on Monday, a Dhaka-based leading rights group, the Manusher Jonno Foundation, in a statement expressed deep concern over a decline in law and order in the country, citing an increase in gender-based violence, harassment and restrictions on women’s mobility.

Over reports of rising violence against women, students have protested recently in Bangladesh. Expressing solidarity with those protests against violence, rape and attacks on women and children, the foundation demanded the interim government contain such crimes.

"For months, we have urged the interim government to take strong measures to protect citizens, particularly women and children. Instead, the law and order situation has further deteriorated. Women and girls are now scared to leave their homes,” said Shaheen Anam, the foundation's executive director, in the statement.

The interim government launched a crackdown called “Operation Devil Hunt” on Feb. 8 and arrested more than 8,000 people across the country. Hasina's Awami League party accused the government of arresting and jailing its supporters.