Political tensions in Bangladesh have intensified as protesters stormed the offices of two major newspapers and set buildings on fire following the shooting death of a 2024 uprising activist.
On 18 Dec 2025 GMT+7, BBC reported violent protests in Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital, where demonstrators attacked the offices of the country's two largest newspapers: the local-language Prothom Alo and the English-language Daily Star, following news of the death of prominent political activist Sharif Osman Hadi from gunshot wounds.
Reports indicated that protesters set fire to the buildings while soldiers and border guards were deployed around the area but had not yet moved in to control the situation.
Hadi, spokesperson for the cultural group “Inqilab Moncho,” was a harsh critic of the Indian government and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He planned to run as an independent candidate in the general elections scheduled by the interim government for February. He died at a hospital in Singapore on Thursday night after being severely wounded in a shooting the previous week while riding a rickshaw in central Dhaka. The assailant, who followed on a motorcycle, shot him before fleeing.
Meanwhile, interim government leader Muhammad Yunus pledged to bring Hadi's shooter to justice, declared Saturday a national day of mourning, and urged the public to curb violence amid concerns that political tensions could escalate further.
Source: BBC