The Shapla Square protests, also known as the Siege of Dhaka, Operation Shapla, and Operation Flash Out by security forces, was the protests and subsequent shootings of protesters on 5 and 6 May 2013 at

Shapla Square Shapla Square (, Shapla Chottor) is a huge sculpture at the heart of Motijheel, a central business district, near the center of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It depicts a Shapla (water lily, the species '' Nymphaea nouchali''), the national ...

, located in the

Motijheel Motijheel () is a central business district and a thana of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is Dhaka's primary central business district, and also the nation's largest commercial and financial hub. Motijheel, located immediately adjacent to Dhaka's zero ...

district, the main financial area of

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. The protests were organized by the Islamist

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

, Hefazat-e Islam, who were demanding the enactment of a

blasphemy law A blasphemy law is a law prohibiting blasphemy, which is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of Reverence (attitude), reverence to a deity, or sacred objects, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. According to Pew Re ...

. The government responded to the protests by cracking down on the protesters using a combined force drawn from the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

Rapid Action Battalion Rapid Action Battalion (; abbreviated as RAB) is an anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit of the Bangladesh Police. This elite force consists of members of the Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force, Bangladesh Police, Border Guard ...

and paramilitary

Border Guard Bangladesh Border Guard Bangladesh (abbr. BGB; ) is a paramilitary force responsible for the border security of Bangladesh. The BGB is entrusted with the responsibility to defend the border of Bangladesh with India and Myanmar. It was formerly known as t ...

to drive the protesters out of Shapla Square. Following the events at

, protests in other parts of the country also broke out, during which 27 people died, although different sources report casualty numbers ranging from 20 to 61. The opposition party BNP initially claimed thousands of Hefazat activists were killed during the operation, but this was disputed by the government.

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

and other

human rights organization A human rights group, or human rights organization, is a non-governmental organization which advocates for human rights through identification of their violation, collecting incident data, its analysis and publication, promotion of public awareness ...

s put the total death toll at above 50. Initial attempts to dispute the chain of events were thwarted due to the government closure of two television channels, Diganta Television and Islamic TV, which were live telecasting the operation.

Background

13 point demand

In early 2013, Hefajat-e Islam emerged as a

pressure group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

composed of madrassah teachers and students, led by

Shah Ahmad Shafi Shah Ahmad Shafi (; 5 April 1930 – 18 September 2020) was a Bangladeshi Sunni Islamic scholar, the chief of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, Rector of Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam Hathazari and also the chairman of Bangladesh Qawmi Madr ...

, rector of Hathazari Madrasah. The group became particularly active after allegations surfaced that some protesters in the Shahbag protests were involved in the publishing of content offensive to

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

on blogs, including the depiction of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

as a pornographic character. On 6 April 2013, its supporters made a long-march to promote their 13-point charter, which included: * Restoration the phrase "Complete faith and trust in the Almighty Allah" in the nation's constitution; * Enact a

; * Taking measures for punishment of "atheist

bloggers A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

" who led the

Shahbagh Shahbagh (also Shahbaugh or Shahbag, , ) is a major neighbourhood and a police precinct or ''thana'' in Dhaka, the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. It is also a major public transport hub. It is a junction between two contrasting section ...

movement, and against anti-Islam activists who made "derogatory remarks" against the

; * Stopping "infiltration of all 'alien-culture', in the name of individual's freedom of expression, including free mixing of male and female" and candle lighting. Stopping harassment of women, open fornication and adultery,

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

, all forms of violence against women and an end to the tradition of

dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...

; * Make Islamic education mandatory from primary to higher secondary levels, cancelling the women's, and anti-religion, education policy; * Declaration of

Ahmadiyyas Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

as non-Muslim; * Stopping the erection of statues to be popularly venerated, such as by the placement of flowers; * Lifting government restrictions on access to mosques across the country, including Baitul Mukarram National Mosque; * Stopping

Islamophobic Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...

content in media; * Stopping activities by NGOs in the

Chittagong Hill Tracts The Chittagong Hill Tracts (), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, refers to the three hilly districts within the Chittagong Division in southeastern Bangladesh, bordering India and Myanmar (Burma) in the east: Kh ...

where Hefazat fears a "foreign conspiracy" to make a separate

Christian state A Christian state is a country that recognizes a form of Christianity as its official religion and often has a state church (also called an established church), which is a Christian denomination that supports the government and is supported by ...

in that area; * Stop the

extrajudicial killing An extrajudicial killing (also known as an extrajudicial execution or an extralegal killing) is the deliberate killing of a person without the lawful authority granted by a judicial proceeding. It typically refers to government authorities, ...

ulema In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

; * Stopping the harassment of teachers and students of

Qawmi Qawmi Madrasah (, ) is an adjective describing one of the two major madrasah educational categories in Bangladesh. The Qawmi madrasahs are not regulated by the Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board. As private charitable organizations, Qawmi madra ...

madrassas Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning. ...

and

; * Release of all

, and

madrassa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning. ...

students, that had been arrested and the withdrawal of all cases filed against them, compensation for the victims, and bringing the assailants to justice. The government responded by saying that it had "already met" many of the group's demands. This included the arrest of four bloggers for making derogatory comments against Muhammad.

Human Rights Watch warning

On 3 May 2013,

issued warnings, based on information obtained from diplomatic missions regarding an imminent government crackdown, to security forces against committing excesses in the planned upcoming protests. It also urged the government to appoint an independent commission to investigate the killing of civilians since February, and prosecute those responsible for unlawful killings and use of force.

Protests

5 May

Hefazat-e-Islam organized a protest on 5 May demanding a trial of "atheist bloggers", and new legislation for the punishment for

blasphemy Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic o ...

. On 5 May 2013, Hefazat activists blockaded all six entrance routes to

from dawn. At noon, with the permission of

Dhaka Metropolitan Police The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (; abbreviated as DMP) is the unit of Bangladesh Police responsible for law enforcement in the metropolis of Dhaka, the national capital and most populous city in Bangladesh. The DMP is the largest police force uni ...

(DMP), activists entered

and started moving towards Baitul Mukarram Mosque to attend a prayer service. However, activists of Hefazat-e- Islam were attacked en route by armed

Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

activists, who were using the Gulistan Road to reach Shapla Square. In self defense, Hefazat activists counterattacked with bricks. During the clashes, two television journalists were injured, apparently by Hefazat protesters. At about 3:00 pm, while Hefazat leaders were delivering speeches, the Secretary General of the

, Sayed Ashraful Islam, demanded, via press conference, that they leave

. The opposition party

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (), popularly abbreviated as BNP (), is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. It was founded on 1 September 1978 by President of Bangladesh, President Ziaur Rahman, wit ...

(BNP) countered by asserting that Hefazat members had a democratic right to assemble and articulate their cause. During the unrest, Hefazat protesters allegedly attacked the offices of the

Communist Party of Bangladesh The Communist Party of Bangladesh (, abbreviated: CPB) is a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Bangladesh. History After the partitioning of India in 1947, during the 2nd Congress of the Communist Party of India in Calcu ...

. Hefazat claimed that their workers were unarmed and had come under attack by police and

Bangladesh Chhatra League Bangladesh Chhatra League, simply Chhatra League (), is the student wing of the political party, Bangladesh Awami League, founded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 4 January 1948. The organisation is banned and listed as a terrorist organisation in B ...

activists at

Gulistan Gulistan, Golestan or Golastan () means "flower land" in Persian language (''gol'' meaning "flower", and ''-stan'' meaning "land"). It may refer to: Places Iran "Golestan" most often refers to: *Golestan province in northeast Iran. * Goles ...

, Purana Paltan and

Baitul Mukarram Baitul Mukarram (), officially Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, is the national mosque of Bangladesh. It is located at the center of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The mosque was completed in 1968.Thariani and Co: Architects and Engineers. B ...

, and in front of the Communist Party offices. Hefazat supporters reportedly vandalized at least 50 vehicles and several buildings during their rally. They violently attacked others in front of the

headquarter at Paltan,

, and allegedly set fire to a number of book stores near the Baitul Mukarram mosque.

6 May

By nightfall, many of the demonstrators had left the city, but about 50,000- 70,000 still remained in

. There, they held prayers and were addressed by their leaders. At around 2.15 am on 6 May, security forces cut power to the area. At 2:30 a.m. about 5000 members of the security forces launched "Operation Shapla", or "Operation Flash Out", to remove them. The forces included members of the

Bangladesh Police The Bangladesh Police () is the national law enforcement agency of Bangladesh, operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs (Bangladesh), Ministry of Home Affairs. It plays a crucial role in maintaining peace, and enforcement of law and order with ...

, RAB, and BGB. At first they used megaphones, asking the protesters to leave the area peacefully. Then, moving in from three directions via Dainik Bangla, Fakirapool and Bangladesh Bank intersection, security forces used

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...

, rubber bullets, and sound grenades to disperse the demonstrators. Most fled the area, but others hid in side streets and buildings, where they were shot down by security forces. Hefazat alleges that the bodies were then picked up by

garbage truck A garbage truck is a truck specially designed to collect municipal solid waste and transport it to a list of solid waste treatment technologies, solid waste treatment facility, such as a landfill, materials recovery facility, recycling center ...

s and dumped outside the city. Ahmad Shafi was escorted away from a madrassa in Dhaka and flown to

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

. Police insisted he was not arrested but was leaving voluntarily. On the following morning, the protests spread across the country. In

Narayanganj Narayanganj () is a city in central Bangladesh in the Greater Dhaka area. It is in the Narayanganj District, about southeast of the capital city of Dhaka. With a population of almost 1 million, it is the 6th largest city in Bangladesh. It is als ...

, students and teachers of a local madrasa held protests and blockaded the Dhaka-Chittagong highway. In return,

fired on the protesters, killing 27. In Hathazari Upazila, six people were shot dead by police, while in

Bagerhat Bagerhat is a city in southern Bangladesh and the headquarters of Bagerhat district. Located on the banks of the Bhairab river, Bagerhat has a population of around 50,000. It is located near the old city of Khalifatabad The Mosque City of Bag ...

, a Hefazat member died in a clash between protesters and police.

Casualties

According to government estimates, the number of casualties in this operation was 11, including a few law enforcement members, while the Daily Star reported 5 deaths. Opposition parties initially claimed that 2000- 3000 of protesters had been killed, while Hefazat claimed about 1000 deaths.

disagreed with Hefazat's claims. Some victims were bystanders, including a number of shopkeepers near the

, while most were Hefazat supporters, including children, who were killed by a blow to the head or gunshot wounds. Doctors at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital confirmed that many of those dead had been shot in the head. One policeman was also attacked in reprisal. According to Human Rights Watch, eyewitnesses saw 25-30 bodies that were confirmed dead. This included British activist and journalist David Bergman, who saw 24 bodies. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' reported 22 confirmed deaths, while an investigation conducted by

Aljazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which provi ...

revealed that 14 bodies of "bearded men" with gunshot wounds were buried, after the protests, at Dhaka's state-run cemetery. Human rights group Odhikar reported 61 deaths, but refused to reveal the names of the victims out of security concerns for their families. The

UK Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

estimates a total of no fewer than total of 50 deaths. Many individuals, including orphan children, were missing, which may have contributed to the discrepancies in casualties. Because of the differing views,

called for an independent body to investigate the protest deaths.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

demanded that

Bangladesh government The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the le ...

set up an independent and impartial investigation immediately to look into police excesses. On 19 August 2024, the organization Odhikar released a list of 61 individuals who were killed by law enforcement during the protests. On 06 May 2025,

Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh () is a Deobandi Islamist advocacy group consisting mostly of religious teachers (''Ulama'') and students in Bangladesh. The group is mainly based on qawmi madrasas in Bangladesh. In 2013, they submitted a 13-point ch ...

published a list of 93 individuals who were killed during the event.

Censorship

Diganta TV and Islamic TV channel were broadcasting live footage of the raid on Motijheel when they were forced off-air on the dawn of 6 May. Diganta Television's chief reporter M. Kamruzzaman said that around 25 plain-clothed policemen and an official from the broadcast commission had entered their studios without warning. According to the

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) () is an independent commission founded under the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulation Act, 2001 (Act no. 18 of 2001). The commission is responsible for regulating all matters related ...

(BTRC), the channels' reporting on raid on

contained "exaggerated things, (had) given misinformation and called for breaking the law and attacking the law enforcers." Critics have accused the Sheikh Hasina government of using the Islamist issue to silence dissidents.

Reactions

Domestic

Government

In response to the massacre allegations,

claimed the operation resulted in “zero casualty” while 14 party leaders claimed it to be "bloodless." Bangladeshi foreign minister

Dipu Moni Dipu Moni (born 8 December 1965) is a Bangladeshi politician and former minister of social welfare. She was a member of parliament for the Chandpur-3 constituency. She was minister of education in the fourth Hasina ministry and minister of f ...

downplayed reports of inaccuracy in government figures and added that "most of the people in the country doesn't even think that there was any controversy with the matter." On 19 June, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina rejected the allegations, stating in Parliament

... and that day's event was fully televised, you have seen how they have rubbed red dye onto their bodies and when police came and called them they got up and ran away ... we saw that dead bodies made a run for it! This kind of drama has been made there.

She also blamed the attack on her arch rival

Khaleda Zia Begum Khaleda Zia (born August–September 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the prime minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Bangladesh and the second fema ...

, claiming: “She (Khaleda) is the instigator, she is the issuer of order.” Awami League politicians blamed Qamrul Islam BNP, Jamaat and ISI of backing the protests. Hefazat was also criticized for bringing minors, who were also attacked by law enforcement agencies during the operation, to the protests.

Opposition

The opposition

compared the attacks to the Pakistani crackdown on 25 March and Jalianwala Bagh massacres. BNP leader MK Anwar called it a "disastrous killing." In response, Detective Branch police raided the houses of city BNP convener Sadeque Hossain Khoka and

Bangladesh Jatiya Party The Bangladesh Jatiya Party (), simply known as BJP, is a centre-right conservative political party in Bangladesh. It is a splinter group of the original Jatiya Party, founded by the former President Hossain Mohammad Ershad. It was previousl ...

chairman Andaleeve Rahman Partha.

Hefazat-e-Islam

While some Hefzat activists vowed "revenge" after the killings, Hefazat ''

amir Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has ...

'' Shah Ahmad Shafi appealed for calm and called a

general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

all over Bangladesh on 12 May 2013.

Others

On 10 June 2013, human rights group Odhikar, published a fact finding report claiming 61 deaths, but refused to provide any names of the victims report, citing security concerns for the families of the victims. The Ain O Shalish Kendro demanded impartial investigation "to deal with them (Hefazat-e-Islam) more strategically and responsibly."

International

UN Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

voiced concern over the killing of unarmed protesters in Bangladesh and requested the government to sit with religious and political leaders.

US ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the United States' diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of th ...

, Dan Mozena, has cautioned that all groups and individuals have rights to protest.

Lawsuits

The government filed 12 cases against Hefazat-e Islam leaders for murder, vandalism, arson and destruction of properties and other charges. Hefazat denies the charges. On 27 June 2013, Martin F. McMahon & Associates, a US law firm representing two US-based organisations, Human Rights and Development for Bangladesh and Bangladeshi-Americans in Greater Washington DC, filed cases in the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

against 25 Bangladeshi ministers and security officials, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for alleged "torture, forced disappearance, extrajudicial executions and mass killings", Ahmed Ziauddin, a

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

based Bangladeshi lawyer who was accused of influencing the proceedings of Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal at the instruction of Bangladesh government, stated- "I am not sure about the objective of it and I am sure those Washington-based organisations have some political motives. They may have been trying to create political hype since filing a complaint in the ICC does not mean proceedings of a case will start immediately" On 10 August 2013, police raided the offices of Odhikar and arrested its general secretary, Adilur Rahman Khan. In a press briefing, police officials said they found the list of 61 deaths and released it to the media. In a press statement, the

US Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

expressed deep concern over the arrest and demanded his immediate release. Following the ouster of

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...

via a mass uprising in 2024, two mass murder cases were filed against her and her administration at the International Crimes Tribunal, on 18 and 20 August over deaths caused by indiscriminate firing during the protests.

References

External links

Odhikar's full report

Dhaka Metropolitan commissioner's interview published in The Prothom Alo newspaper

Independent TV's investigative report on Operation Shapla chattar

Independent TV's investigative report on Operation Shapla chattar (English sub titled)
{{Bangladesh topics 2013 Bangladesh violence Shapla Square protests Shapla Square protests Shapla Square protests Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh Police brutality in Bangladesh Premiership of Sheikh Hasina May 2013 in Bangladesh