United News of Bangladesh

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday underscored the need for maintaining a stable security situation in the capital and elsewhere in the country. He appreciated the efforts by the security forces in some of the high-profile incidents. A high-level meeting on the law and order situation in the country was held at the State Guest House Jamuna with the Chief Adviser in the chair. Adviser to the Ministry of Home Affairs Lieutenant General (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain and National Security Adviser Dr Khalilur Rahman attended the meeting. Starlink: CA Prof Yunus greets all involved Chief of the Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman, Navy Chief Admiral Mohammad Nazmul Hassan and Air Force Chief Air Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan, along with other senior officials, also attended the meeting, said Chief Adviser’s Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder. The meeting reviewed the law and order situation across the country. Senior security officials presented reports on the situation.

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Friday called on all citizens to materialise the dream of building a country where all Bangladeshis can live in security and dignity. This, he said, is needed to act with self-discipline and to channel the people’s  energy into productive and peaceful efforts to support positive changes.  The government is working with the country’s security forces to preserve law and order and to protect the lives and property of all Bangladeshis, he said.  "If any attempt is made to destabilize the country through any kind of provocative activities, law enforcement agencies will immediately take strict action against anyone acting to create chaos and anarchy, which emphatically includes the destruction of property. The government will bring the responsible individuals and groups to justice," according to a statement shared by Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam.  Security agencies must make maximum use of latest communication tools: Dr Yunus The chief adviser called on all citizens to immediately restore complete law and order and to ensure there will be no further attacks on property associated with the family of Sheikh Hasina and politicians of the fascist Awami League party or against any citizen on any pretext.  "The whole world is with us. Any deterioration of law and order will give a wrong message to the world," said the interim government.  The anger of the activists who have attacked properties is understandable because they and their relatives and friends lived through years of tyranny under Hasina, said the statement.  The government said it understands the activists’ sense of outrage that even from her refuge in New Delhi Hasina continues to try to mobilise her militants to hamper Bangladesh’s recovery from her years of abuse.   CA promises ‘safe and sound’ basis for next govt to work with Despite this understanding, the government appeals to the citizens to abide by the law to show the world "we are a nation that respects of the rule of law", said the CA's press wing.  Respecting the rule of law is what differentiates the new Bangladesh "we are working together to build from the old Bangladesh under the fascist regime". "Let us not undermine Bangladeshis’ sense of security and stability; any disregard for the law endangers the lives and property of citizens." For the citizens who rose up and overthrew the Hasina regime in July and August to realise their dreams for the country, it is imperative to prove to ourselves and our friends around the world that their commitment to their principles – respecting one another’s civil and human rights and acting under the law – is unshakable, the statement reads.  Vandalism across Bangladesh to be resisted: Govt Champions of a just new Bangladesh must never act in ways that could support any perceived equivalence, however unjust, between the behaviour of today’s institutions and those of the ousted autocrats, said the interim government.  The leaders of the fascist regime have left the country in complete ruins, the government said.  "They have no chance to come back as long as we remain alert and retain the moral high ground. Any attacks to their properties give them an excuse to draw international attention to themselves and dish out their fabricated stories. We are in the process of trying them for their crimes against humanity," said Yunus. Hasina’s “provocative remarks" fueled Dhanmondi-32 vandalism: Govt

The accounts are horrific. Women killed while carrying babies on their backs, the wounded hunted down and villagers watching the execution of their neighbors, fearing they'd be next. These are some of the atrocities allegedly perpetrated by Burkina Faso's security forces in the north of the country, according to a statement Tuesday by locals from the village of Karma where the violence took place. It was early morning last Thursday, when people in the village in Yatenga province, awoke to a large group of armed men in military fatigues, driving motorcycles and armored pickup trucks. “Some villagers, happy to see ‘our soldiers', came out of their houses to welcome them. Unfortunately, this joy was cut short when the first shots rang out, also causing the first casualties," said the statement from the villagers. At least 150 civilians may have been killed and many others injured in the violence, said the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani, in a statement Tuesday. The U.N. is calling for a prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into what it called the “horrific killing of civilians”. Also Read: At least 44 people killed by extremists in Burkina Faso's north Earlier this week, Burkina Faso's prosecutor said it had already opened an investigation into the killings, but put the death toll at 60, less than half the number estimated by the U.N. and local residents. Jihadi fighters linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have waged a violent insurgency in Burkina Faso for seven years. The violence has killed thousands of people and divided the country, leading to two coups last year. Since Capt. Ibrahim Traore seized power in September 2022 during the second coup, extrajudicial killings of civilians have increased, according to rights groups and residents. This incident — one of the deadliest against civilians by security forces — comes amid mounting allegations against the military for committing abuses against those it believes to be supporting the jihadis. Also Read: More than 70 soldiers killed in Burkina Faso, extremists say Earlier this month, Burkina Faso’s government announced it was opening other investigations into allegations of human rights abuses by its security forces after a video surfaced that appeared to show the extrajudicial killing of seven children in the country’s north. The Associated Press this month published its own findings about the video. AP’s investigation determined that Burkina Faso’s security forces killed the children in a military base outside the town of Ouahigouya. Days before last week's attack, some 40 security sources were killed near Ouahigouya. Survivors said the soldiers accused them of being jihadi accomplices, by letting them pass through their town, according to the statement from the villagers. One survivor of the attack, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal, told The Associated Press that when the soldiers started shooting people indiscriminately, he grabbed the hand of his 11-year-old son and fled into this house with the rest of his family. However, the soldiers forced their way in, shooting open the door, he said. Also Read: Burkina Faso says 66 women, children freed from extremists “It was like a dream. If someone told us we wouldn’t die, I wouldn’t have believed it,” he said. They made them sit with a group of people in the middle of the village threatening to kill them multiple times. Instead, they killed another group of people and went door to door searching for two of the injured who had fled, he said. Since the violence, people in the community haven't been able to bury their relatives as an army roadblock prevented them reaching the village, said the statement. The abuses will create a backlash against Burkina Faso's junta and drive people into the hands of the jihadis, say conflict analysts. “The reported human rights abuses advance the playbook of militants, it gives them talking points against the security forces and helps their recruitment efforts in the north. This is an awful recipe of consequences,” said Laith Alkhouri, CEO of Intelonyx Intelligence Advisory, which provides intelligence analysis.