Impact Level: Notification

Locations Affected: Dhaka-Aricha highway, Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Tracking Id: RINTP801234939

Description:

As per reports, students groups have continued their blockade for the second day on Saturday (10 May), demanding a ban on the Awami League. Following are the details:

• The Shahbagh blockade remains ongoing; while roads at the Shahbagh intersection remain closed, emergency vehicles, including ambulances, are being allowed to pass.
• A mass rally is scheduled for 1500 hours at Shahbagh, continuing the demand to ban the Awami League. Various groups have announced that similar gatherings will take place across various sites associated with the July uprising. These include areas such as Mirpur-10, Basundhara and Savar, however further details of protests in these locations are yet to be confirmed.
• The student-led National Citizens Party (NCP) held a press briefing on Friday (09 May) night, where it was announced that blockades will also be held at other locations in Dhaka, including the Nayapaltan intersection.
• The NCP called on support from various parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), the Hefazat-e-Islam, and various others. Most parties responded positively to the call for support, except for the BNP, which did not extend its support to the protest on the basis of procedural and legal grounds.
• In the Faridpur area of the Dhaka Division, student protestors have blockaded the national highway near the Bhanga Toll Plaza since the early hours of Saturday (10 May).
• However, leaders of the NCP have appealed to protestors to not block national highways, and gather at the protest rallies at Shahbagh and Nayapaltan instead.

Background:

On Friday (09 May), various groups held a sit-in protest near Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus’ residence in the Jamuna area of Dhaka, demanding a ban on the Awami League.

Impact:

With students announcing an escalation in protests and various political parties extending their support, large-scale protests are likely to continue in and around Dhaka on and after Saturday (10 May).

With further escalations on the issue likely, heightened security and increased police presence are anticipated in and around areas such as Shahbagh, Nayapaltan, Jamuna, and around highways in the Dhaka Division.

Sources:
• https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/380844/shahbagh-blockade-demanding-ban-on-awami-league
•
https://www.observerbd.com/news/524854
•
https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/city/ahsafwugtd
•
https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/politics/support-grows-ncps-call-ban-awami-league-1138361