Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid left the PM House amid nationwide protests against her government on Monday and subsequently fled to India. Bangladesh’s military has announced plans to form an interim government that will include political parties.

There are reports that the military told Shaikh Hasina Wajid to step down which she did, Aaj News reported.

The military had told Sheikh Hasina to resign within 45 minutes and after the ultimatum she left the prime minister house, the TV said.

Indian media reported that Sheikh Hasina left the capital Dhaka along with her sister to a “safer place” just before Bangladesh’s army chief was about to address the nation.

Bangladeshi army chief, Gen Waqar-uz-Zaman later addressed the nation and announced an interim government.

The army chief confirmed that Sheikh Hasina had resigned.

Earlier, news agency AFP reported that Hasina’s resignation is a “possibility”,

Hasina and her sister have left Ganabhaban (the Bangladesh PM’s official residence for a “safer place”, AFP quoted a source.

“You see, the situation is very volatile. What is happening, I myself don’t know,” Law Minister Anisul Huq told Reuters.

Sheikh Hasina flew out of Dhaka in a military helicopter. She intended to record a speech but did not have the opportunity, Dhaka Tribune reported.

The development comes as hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi protesters demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resign clashed with government supporters, with dozens killed in one of the deadliest days since demonstrations began.

Rallies that began last month against civil service job quotas have escalated into some of the worst unrest of Hasina’s 15-year rule and shifted into wider calls for the 76-year-old to step down.

On Sunday, at least 95 people were killed, including 14 police officers, with the rival sides battling with sticks and knives and security forces firing rifles, taking the total killed since protests began in July to at least 283.

Police said protesters attacked their officers, including storming a station in the northeastern town of Enayetpur.

“The terrorists attacked the police station and killed 11 policemen,” said Bijoy Basak, a deputy inspector general.

AFP journalists reported hearing sustained crackles of gunfire after dark on Sunday, with protesters defying a nationwide curfew.

Mobile internet was tightly restricted.

‘Final protest’

In several cases, soldiers and police did not intervene to stem the protests, unlike the past month of rallies that repeatedly ended in deadly crackdowns.

In a hugely symbolic rebuke of Hasina, a respected former army chief demanded the government withdraw troops and allow protests.

Demonstrators in the capital Dhaka, surrounded by a tightly packed and cheering crowd, waved a Bangladeshi flag on top of an armoured car as soldiers watched, according to videos on social media verified by AFP.

Asif Mahmud, one of the key leaders in the nationwide civil disobedience campaign, called on supporters to march on Dhaka on Monday.

“The time has come for the final protest”, he said.

Troops briefly imposed order after violence erupted in July.

However, protesters returned to the streets in huge numbers this month in a non-cooperation movement aimed at paralysing the government.