Attackers set fire to the headquarters of a Bangladesh party supporting deposed leader Sheikh Hasina

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Attackers set fire to the headquarters of a supporting Bangladesh party the country’s deposed leader, Sheikh Hasina Thursday evening, according to media reports. There was no information if anyone was injured.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on the Jatiya Party office in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka. TV stations and other media said the attackers stormed the party headquarters in the Bijoy Nagar area of ​​Dhaka, clashed with party members who were there and eventually set the premises on fire.

The extent of the damage was not immediately known. Firefighters rushed to the scene, said Rashed bin Khaled, a fire and civil defense official. Bin Khaled, who spoke to The Associated Press by phone, had no further details.

The party is the third largest in Bangladesh and was founded in the 1980s by former military dictator HM Ershad.

As the attack was underway, a prominent leader of a student protest movement that led to Hasina’s ouster in August said the Jatiya Party should be “destroyed” for its support for her government.

Hasnat Abdullah, the student leader, claimed in a Facebook post that the Jatiya Party was “a national traitor.”

Abdullah is a member of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, which led the protests in July. He also urged students to gather at Dhaka University and march to the Jatiya Party headquarters.

Mujibul Haque Chunnu, party secretary general, blamed the attack on students. “People are watching what they’re doing to us,” he said. “It’s live on social media … they’re doing it publicly and openly.”

Hasina’s Awami League party from Bangladesh ruled the country for 15 years since 2009. Her critics said the Jatiya Party had acted to give Hasina’s rule a veneer of democracy as other major political parties did not participate in the elections.

Hasina fled the country to India on August 5 after the student-led demonstration turned into an anti-government protest movement. Hundreds of students, security officials and others were killed during the unrest.

Later, hundreds more, including Hasina’s supporters, were killed in revenge attacks or mob violence in the South Asian country. Her now is facing arrest warrants for the murders in July and August.

Mohammed Yunusa Nobel laureate from Bangladesh, took over as head of an interim government in August, backed by the student group and the country’s influential military.

However, his government is struggling to restore order.