Bangladesh PM resigns, flees country; textile-garment mills close

Media outlets reported she left for a ‘safe place’ with her entourage, but has first taken a stopover in India.

A global newswire reported Hasina wanted to address the nation, but authorities in charge of her security vetoed the proposal due to the proximity of the violence.

Urging protesters to stand down, army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, in a televised address to the nation, said the military will form an interim government.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) announced that their production units and mills will remain closed due to the deteriorating law and order situation until further notice.

A spinning mill of Outpace Spinning in Gazipur was burnt by violent protesters yesterday, a BTMA official said, adding some other mills were attacked.

Several factories were shut for four days two weeks ago due to violence and a curfew stemming from the job quota reform movement. BTMA members had reportedly lost $58.8 million during the initial four-day closure.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)