Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and fled the country after weeks of deadly anti-government protests. She has reportedly landed safely in India.

Military chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said he would form an interim government after holding talks with Ms Hasina’s main opposition party and civil society members.

Ms Hasina has been PM for 15 years and was at the time ofnher resignation the longest serving female head of government. She has been involved with her political party, the Awami league, for over 40 years. The Bangladeshi Nationalist Party will likely form an interim government shortly.

Hasina’s flight was precipitated by a series of protests against Awami’s quota system, an affirmative action program that reserved a certain percentage of government jobs for ethnic minorities and the disabled. As the protests evolved, the demands became more anti-authoritarian. According to Freedom House, civil liberties and political rights have declined under Hasina’s government, with some observers characterising Bangladesh as a de facto one party state a la Russia or Singapore.