USA: Protest outside White House over violence against Hindus in Bangladesh
A large number of people demonstrated outside the White House in the US capital city of Washington on Friday against the recent attacks on Hindu community members in Bangladesh after the fall of former PM Sheikh Hasina-led government amid weeks of violent protests in the South Asian nation.
Protesters were seen carrying Bangladeshi and American flags and demanded protection of minorities in the country which is witnessing a political vacuum since Hasina's sudden exit.
The crowd included activists from various human rights organizations, members of the Bangladeshi diaspora and Indian-American Hindu allies.
Shubho Roy, a Bangladeshi Hindu with family in Bangladesh, expressed his fear over the current situation in his home country and demanded for a permanent solution to the ongoing crisis.
"We need a permanent solution so that Hindus and other minorities can live with dignity in Bangladesh," Roy told ANI.
Bangladesh crisis
Bangladesh has reported arson, killings, and multiple incidents of persecution of minority communities across 52 districts since Sheikh Hasina's resignation as the Prime Minister last week.
Hasina fled the country the same day amid fears of being mobbed after protests intensified following the death of over 400 agitators in clashes with the cops.
Her residence was stormed by the protesters hours after she left the complex in a military helicopter. She landed at an airbase in India's Uttar Pradesh, hours later.
Bangladesh is still looking at uncertainty even as a caretaker government has been sworn in under the leadership of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus amid reports of persecution of minority communities that continue to pour in.