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Published : 07 Apr 2025, 05:42 PM
Protesters in Sylhet have vandalised a KFC outlet, accusing it of selling Coca-Cola products during a rally condemning Israeli aggression in Gaza and expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people.
A nearby outlet of international footwear brand Bata was also attacked and heavily damaged during the protests on Monday.
The incidents took place around 3pm at the KFC branch in Mirabazar and the Bata showroom in Dargah Gate, according to Md Ziaul Haque, chief of Sylhet Metropolitan Police’s Kotwali Police Station.
“Police arrived at the scene upon receiving the news, and efforts are ongoing to bring the situation under control,” he said.
Witnesses said that a protest march was passing by the KFC outlet when several individuals entered the restaurant and began smashing items inside. They threw soft drinks onto the street and shattered glass displays with sticks. Following the attack, the KFC branch was closed.
Members of the same procession also entered the nearby Bata showroom, smashing glass panels. Staff members reportedly fled the premises in fear during the attack.
Protesters claimed that there was no place in Bangladesh for businesses linked to Israel, accusing the KFC outlet of selling Israeli soft drink brands. “This will not be tolerated,” one of them said.
“The ongoing assault is not just against one region -- it’s an attack on the entire Muslim world. World leaders must act immediately to end this brutality.”
PROTESTS RESONATE ACROSS CITY
Various organisations staged protest marches across Sylhet city on Monday, condemning the indiscriminate attacks by Israeli forces in Gaza.
Residents from different neighborhoods joined the rallies, chanting slogans and participating in protest programmes.
The protests stretched from the Central Shaheed Minar in Chowhatta to Court Point in Bandar Bazar under banners of multiple organisations. Educational institutions across Sylhet also joined in, observing a “No work, no school” campaign in solidarity with the global movement.
At 11am, students from Sylhet Nursing College held a protest march near the Central Shaheed Minar, while employees of several telecom companies formed a human chain at the same time.
Speaking to reporters during the protest, Ibrahim, a nursing student from Parkview Medical College, said: “As a Muslim-majority country, we must raise our voice against Israel’s barbaric attacks. Israel is a cursed nation that continues to assault innocent Muslims.”
After Zuhr prayer, Bangladesh Anjuman-e-Talamiya Islamia’s Sylhet district and metropolitan branches led a massive protest in Bandar Bazar. Students, local residents, various Islamic groups, and social organisations also took part in demonstrations throughout the city.
