By Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
In a bid to control the narrative surrounding its rise to power, the Yunus-led regime in Bangladesh is aggressively attempting to suppress Chapter-6 of the recently released UN Human Rights Commission (UNCHR) report. While the regime is actively using media channels and PR firms to highlight alleged human rights violations by the previous Sheikh Hasina government, it is simultaneously blocking access to crucial sections of the report that expose the violent and extremist forces behind its own ascent. Chapter-6 details chilling accounts of mob lynchings, targeted killings of police officers and political opponents, and the role of Islamist-jihadist groups in orchestrating the crisis. This raises serious concerns about the legitimacy of the new government and its broader implications for regional security. Why is the Yunus regime so desperate to bury this chapter, and what does it reveal about the forces that brought it to power?
In a bid to control the narrative surrounding its rise to power, the Yunus-led regime in Bangladesh is aggressively attempting to suppress Chapter-6 of the recently released UN Human Rights Commission (UNCHR) report. While the regime is actively using media channels and PR firms to highlight alleged human rights violations by the previous Sheikh Hasina government, it is simultaneously blocking access to crucial sections of the report that expose the violent and extremist forces behind its own ascent. Chapter-6 details chilling accounts of mob lynchings, targeted killings of police officers and political opponents, and the role of Islamist-jihadist groups in orchestrating the crisis. This raises serious concerns about the legitimacy of the new government and its broader implications for regional security. Why is the Yunus regime so desperate to bury this chapter, and what does it reveal about the forces that brought it to power?
The February 12, 2025, report issued by the United Nations Human Rights Office (UCHR) has been extensively used by the Yunus regime to portray Sheikh Hasina’s government as a major violator of human rights and a perpetrator of crimes against humanity. By leveraging media coverage and public relations campaigns funded with significant financial resources, the new regime seeks to legitimize its rule. However, at the same time, it is making every effort to suppress Chapter-6 of the report and prevent its publication in local and international media. Understanding the contents of this chapter is crucial in exposing why the Yunus administration fears its dissemination.
What Does Chapter-6 Reveal?
Chapter-6 of the UNCHR report states:
“During the protests, sections of the radicalized crowd carried out beatings and other serious retaliatory violence targeting police and Awami League officials or supporters, which in many cases appeared to be a direct response to unlawful violence perpetrated by or blamed on the victims”.
For example, on July 19 in Uttara, a mob severely beat the former mayor of Gazipur and lynched one of his aides to death after he and several other armed Awami League supporters allegedly opened fire on protesters.
The most serious incident occurred on August 4. As the previous government gradually lost control over the country, incidents of retaliatory violence against the Awami League and the police increased.
In Raiganj, under Sirajganj district, a group of armed men – who, according to witnesses, appeared different from other protesters in terms of clothing -attacked the local Awami League office and set it ablaze. The attackers killed five local Awami League officials and a journalist. One of the slain officers was first publicly humiliated – held up by the ear – before being beaten to death.
On the same day, another large group of youths attacked Enayetpur Police Station in the same district. According to police sources, 15 policemen were killed in the incident.
On August 5, three police stations were torched and looted in Feni district, and 16 policemen were attacked. A day earlier, 300–400 armed Awami League supporters had allegedly attacked student protesters in Feni, resulting in the deaths of eight protesters and serious injuries to 79 others.
In Rangpur, armed Awami League supporters – including an Awami League city councilor – opened fire on protesters. Later, a mob captured the councilor and one of his associates, beat them to death, and dragged their bodies through the streets.
In Narsingdi, six Awami League supporters were chased down and beaten to death by a mob after allegedly opening fire on protesters.
A reign of terror unleashed by Islamist-jihadist forces
Chapter-6 of the report further details how Islamist and jihadist forces -including Hizb Ut Tahrir, Ansar Al-Islam (the local affiliate of Al Qaeda), ISIS, and Hamas – established a reign of terror across Bangladesh. Their activities included lynching police officers, targeting religious minorities such as Hindus and Christians, and engaging in widespread violence, including looting, arson attacks, abductions, and rape. A vast cache of weapons and ammunition was looted from police stations and prisons, much of which remains unaccounted for, with no apparent effort by the current regime to recover these arms.
Meanwhile, during the second week of January, Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) launched a massive offensive against the US Agency for International Development (USAID) over allegations of wasting billions of American taxpayer dollars on dubious political agendas, including regime change operations orchestrated by the Biden-Kamala administration.
The DOGE, led by Musk and his team, entered the offices of USAID, shutting down much of its operations. Thousands of staff members were placed on administrative leave, and foreign-based employees were ordered to return to the United States. Musk publicly condemned USAID as a criminal organization responsible for nefarious activities worldwide. There were also allegations that billions of dollars channeled through USAID had found their way into the pockets of key Democratic Party figures, including Joe Biden, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama.
On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order shutting down USAID.
In Bangladesh, USAID played a significant role in the ouster of Sheikh Hasina and in installing the current Islamist-backed regime, with Yunus as its figurehead.
On February 20, 2025, President Trump publicly questioned why the Biden administration had allocated substantial funds through USAID for political activities in South Asia, including US$29 million for “strengthening the political landscape in Bangladesh”. Trump asserted that such funding had been part of a broader regime-change agenda and was now permanently terminated.
Even more alarming are allegations that a significant portion of USAID’s Bangladesh allocation was used to procure weapons – specifically, 7.62 bore sniper rifles. These rifles were later handed over to Islamist and jihadist elements in Bangladesh and were used during the July-August anti-Hasina coup. Hundreds of innocent civilians and law enforcement officers were killed with these weapons, while training for their use was allegedly provided by the Pakistan Army.
Following Sheikh Hasina’s removal from power, reports indicate that a significant number of these sniper rifles were smuggled into India and distributed among jihadist and insurgent groups.
The suppression of Chapter-6 of the UNCHR report by the Yunus regime is a desperate attempt to conceal the dark realities behind its ascent to power. The documented violence, the involvement of extremist groups, and the alleged foreign interference paint a grim picture of the current government’s legitimacy. With growing international scrutiny and the exposure of USAID’s controversial role, the global community must question whether Bangladesh’s new leadership is truly committed to democracy and human rights – or if it is merely a front for more sinister forces. The world cannot afford to ignore the implications of this dangerous shift in Bangladesh’s political landscape.
(The writer is an internationally acclaimed multi-award-winning journalist, writer, research-scholar, and Editor of Blitz)
