Bloody protests

Nobel Prize winner Yunus takes over in Bangladesh

The now 84-year-old was the protest movement's preferred candidate.(Bild: AP/PAVEL RAHMAN)

Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus is to head the transitional government in Bangladesh. He had been called for by the heads of the protest movement after the previous head of government fled. 

Yunus has agreed to take over from the fugitive Sheikh Hasina following mass protests, the office of President Mohammed Shahabuddin announced early Wednesday morning (local time). 

The Students Against Discrimination (SAD) movement, which had led the anti-government protests, had brought the economist into play as interim head of government. "We trust Dr. Yunus," said Asif Mahmud, a SAD leader. Sheikh Hasina fled the South Asian country on Monday after 15 years in power.

Banker was awarded Nobel Prize
Yunus has long been considered a political opponent of former head of government Hasina. More than a hundred court cases are pending against him, which supporters have criticized as political persecution. Now 84 years old, he founded Grameen Bank in the 1980s, which grants microloans to the poorest people in Bangladesh. In 2006, the economist was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.

Demonstrators stormed Hasina's palace, whereupon she fled.(Bild: AFP/K M ASAD)

At least 109 people were killed in the violent protests against Hasina and her government on Monday alone, according to police and doctors on Tuesday. It was the bloodiest day since the mass protests began in early July. According to figures available to AFP, at least 409 people were killed in total.

Protests were getting bigger and bigger
Originally, the protesters had taken to the streets against a quota system for the allocation of public sector jobs, which they believed favored Hasina's supporters. Gradually, the resignation of the head of government, who has been in office since 2009, became the goal of the protest movement, which was joined by more and more people from all walks of life.

The 76-year-old Hasina was confirmed in office in January in an election that was boycotted by a large part of the opposition. Her government has been accused of abusing state institutions to maintain its own power and suppressing government critics - including the extrajudicial killing of opposition figures. In recent weeks, millions of people have taken to the streets to demand her resignation.