Bangladesh unrest: Student leader Sharif Osman Hadi dead. Who is fuelling protests?

Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent youth leader in Bangladesh, died on Dec 18 at a hospital in Dhaka. Osman Hadi gained national attention during the 2024 student-led uprising that led to the fall of former PM Sheikh Hasina’s government.

Hadi was shot by masked men on 12 December as he was leaving a mosque in Dhaka. He was airlifted to a hospital in Singapore for treatment, where he succumbed to his injuries on Thursday. "Despite the best efforts of the doctors, Hadi succumbed to his injuries," Singapore's foreign affairs ministry said.

Hadi was running for a parliamentary seat in the February 2026 national election. In Dhaka, the interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus confirmed Hadi's death. "His demise is an irreparable loss for the nation," Yunus said in a televised speech.

Protesters took to the streets of Dhaka after the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, 32, was announced, & demanded that his killers be arrested.