6 army men injured in last night’s clashes at Secretariat: ISPR

At least six army officials were injured, one of them critically, last night as agitated Ansar members suddenly attacked the army men deployed for the security of the Secretariat.
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) disclosed the updates in a press release today.
Referring to the role of the army in the incident, the release read, “Army members deployed to maintain law and order yesterday strengthened security at different important places and all gates of the Secretariat to ensure overall security in the Bangladesh Secretariat area.”
An estimated 10,000 Ansar members gathered at different times yesterday and surrounded the Bangladesh Secretariat and held seven advisers of the interim government and other senior officials of the Secretariat hostage.
In the afternoon, the director general of Ansar and VDP went to the Secretariat to pacify the agitated Ansar members and accepted all the demands of the Ansar members, the release said.
However, the agitated Ansar members did not leave the area and confined the Ansar and VDP director general, and some other members tried to enter the Secretariat by breaking gate no. 3.
At the same time, the agitated Ansar members suddenly attacked the students present at the spot and attacked the army men deployed for security in the Secretariat with brickbats and sticks, the ISPR release reads.
It further read, “Six soldiers were injured and one of them is in critical condition. In the meantime, the army members deployed to bring the situation under control repeatedly and patiently engaged with the Ansar members, but when the agitated Ansars did not desist, they fired 27 rounds of blank shots in the sky. Later, additional troops were deployed in the Bangladesh Secretariat area and brought the situation under control by dispersing the Ansars.”
Later, seven advisers of the interim government, DG of Ansar, senior officials of law enforcement agencies, and all officials of the secretariat left the area safely with the help of the army men.
The deployed army members took a number of Ansar members, who had intruded into the Secretariat and later sought shelter to save their lives, into their custody and later handed them over to the police.