Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus has agreed to assume the role of chief adviser in the interim government.

Yunus said, “When the students who sacrificed so much are requesting me to step in at this difficult juncture, how can I refuse?”

Overall, more than 400 people are believed to have died, as protests were met with harsh repression by government forces.

The protests began in early July with peaceful demands from university students to abolish quotas in civil service jobs, but snowballed into a broader anti-government movement.

Weeks of unrest culminated in the storming of the prime minister's official residence, not long after Hasina had fled to neighbouring India, ending nearly 15 years of rule.

bd-pratidin/GR