Over 2,000 Communal Attacks On Hindus And Other Religious Minorities In Bangladesh Between 4 and 20 August: Minority Rights Group

Bangladesh witnessed 2,010 incidents of communal violence against religious minorities across 68 out of 76 districts and metropolitan areas between 4 August and 20 August, leading to the deaths of nine people, according to a minority rights advocacy group.

The attacks on Hindus and other religious minorities escalated in Bangladesh after the violent protests began in the country following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on 5 August.

Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad (BHBCOP), an organisation set up to protect the human rights of the religious and ethnic minorities of Bangladesh, presented details of the communal violence at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity's Nasrul Hamid Auditorium on Thursday (19 September).

Nirmal Rozario, a vice-president of the organisation, disclosed that 1,705 families were directly affected in the violence.

Out of these families, 157 saw their homes being attacked, looted, vandalised, and set ablaze.

Some of their businesses were also looted, vandalised, and torched, Nirmal said, adding that these families are now living in dire conditions.

Rozario further said that Khulna division was the worst affected, where four women were reportedly raped during the unrest.

Of the 1,705 families affected, 34 belonged to indigenous communities, and some of their lands were forcibly taken, according to Rozario.

Additionally, 69 places of worship were attacked, vandalised, looted, and set ablaze during the communal violence.

Nirmal called for an independent and impartial investigation of communal violence under the supervision of the United Nations.

He further demanded the withdrawal of false cases against the organisation's general secretary, Rana Dasgupta, and other leaders, as well as the immediate cessation of the ongoing violence and the arrest and prosecution of the offenders.

Reacting to the development, US-based advocacy group Hindu American Foundation (HAF) said that the report by the BHBCOP "underscores the continued danger & insecurity affecting Hindus, Buddhists and Christians in Bangladesh".

"We cannot look away as the days of Durga Puja approach," the HAF added.

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