Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council on Wednesday reported a dramatic drop in the number of attacks on minorities amid a spontaneous resistance put up by people against minority repression.
Locals, including madrassah teachers and students and political party activists, continued to patrol minority property, including their houses, temples and monasteries for the聽 third consecutive day on Wednesday.
There, however, were reports of attacks continuing on Ahmadiya people in Sherpur鈥檚 Jhinaigati by Islamists as the minority community struggled to get help from law enforcers.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, Bangladesh Army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman said at a press briefing in Dhaka cantonment that there were attacks on minorities in some places, adding that the situation, however, was calming down.
He said that the non-existence of the police left a void that could not be filled up with the Bangladesh Army despite full deployment of forces.
He expected that the law and order situation would soon improve as police were reorganising.
The BHBCUC said on Wednesday that they received reports from eight districts where minorities were intimidated with expulsion from the country if they did not pay money to the attackers or faced attacks on some of their establishments.
The BHBCUC had reported attacks on minorities in 37 to 40 districts on Tuesday and in 20 districts the day before, when Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh after stepping down as prime minister in the wake of violent protests and widespread riots.
Scores of houses, shops and businesses were torched, looted and vandalised in the attacks on minorities that left many people injured, mainly Hindus.
At least two deaths were confirmed during the attacks and in one incident women were physically assaulted.
鈥楤ut the situation is improving probably because of the people speaking up against minority repression,鈥� said Monindra Kumar Nath, joint secretary, BHBCUC.
The districts where minorities faced attacks until Wednesday afternoon were Naogaon, Pirojpur, Natore, Chattogram, Jhalkathi, Mymensingh, Kurigram, and Lalmonirhat.聽
抖阴精品 correspondent in Cumilla reported that teams comprising madrassah students and teachers conducted rotating patrols in Shashongachha area to protect minority Hindus over the last two days.
The patrol teams were mobilised by Islami Chhatra Andolon Bangladesh.
鈥楢nnouncements were made from mosques after evening prayers in the past two days asking people to remain alert and resist any incidents of attacks on minorities,鈥� said Mohammad Basir Ahmed, the imam of the old Jame mosque in Shahongachha.
He said that people were acting responsibly and appeared committed to protecting their neighbours.
Newspapers also reported people鈥檚 groups protecting minority establishments in places of Sylhet, Habiganj, Sunamganj, Rangpur, Chattogram, Khulna, Kishoreganj, and Natore.
Ahmadiya Muslim Jama鈥檃t secretary Ahmad Tabshir Choudhury said that Islamists continued to attack their community members at Rangtai in Jhinaigati of Sherpur.
Ahmadiyas in the area faced attacks since August 6 when their houses were vandalised, prompting at least 25 families to flee.
On Wednesday afternoon, Tabsir said that the attackers brought excavators to take away the remnants of damaged houses so that no trace of the minority community ever existed there were found.
The affected families took shelters in their relatives or left the area for safety.
At least 18 Ahmadiyas were injured and over 70 houses were vandalised in communal attacks in Dhaka, Rangpur, Rajshahi and Nilphamari.
The Student Movement against Discrimination, which led the uprising that brought down Hasina鈥檚 authoritarian regime, on Wednesday reiterated its stance against any communal attacks and disorder, stating that it was working with the people to restore peace and order.
