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UN probe reveals three-quarters of protest deaths caused by firearms, with 60 percent of them being shot with weapons meant for war
Published : 12 Feb 2025, 11:54 PM
A United Nations investigation into the recent student-led mass movement in Bangladesh has revealed that 78 percent of the 1,400 people reportedly killed during the protests died from gunfire, with 60 percent of them being shot with weapons meant for war.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, released its findings on Wednesday, covering the period from Jul 1 to Aug 15, 2024.
The investigation, led by Rory Mungoven, chief of the Asia-Pacific region of the OHCHR was conducted in September and involved human rights investigators, a forensic expert, and a weapons specialist.
The UN, citing forensic reports from Dhaka Medical College and other sources, said at least 1,400 people were killed in the crackdown on protests between Jul 15 and Aug 5, after matching the health ministry’s record of 841 names with other sources.
While the UN noted that not all deaths were caused by state forces or extrajudicial killings, it found that most deaths resulted from gunfire, including military rifles and lethal metal-pellet shotguns used by security forces.
“Forensic reports from Dhaka Medical College indicate that three-quarters of the total deaths (78 percent) were caused by firearms typically used by state security forces, which are inaccessible to civilians,” the report said.
The findings also suggest that two-thirds of the fatalities were inflicted by high-powered automatic and semi-automatic military rifles, including those used by the Border Guard Bangladesh, or BGB, Rapid Action Battalion, or RAB, army, Ansar-VDP, and the Armed Police Battalion.
Even regular police reportedly used such weapons during the protests.
According to the UN, 12 percent of deaths resulted from lethal shotgun pellets.
The report also said forensic examinations and confidential sources confirmed that projectiles recovered from victims matched 7.62×39mm rifle rounds produced by Bangladesh Ordnance Factory.
“In some cases, armour-piercing 7.62 calibre rounds were used against unarmed civilians. These bullets are designed for battlefield use, capable of penetrating body armour, and are not meant for law-enforcing agencies. Such ammunition is typically found with the army, BGB, and RAB. Civilians in Bangladesh do not have access to these,” the report said.
Video footage from the protests showed members of the police, BGB, RAB, army, and Ansar-VDP using SKS, Type 57, and BD-08 rifles, which are also manufactured by Bangladesh Ordnance Factory.
The UN noted that civilian criminals used weapons such as pistols, revolvers, submachine guns, and commercially available toy shotguns.
However, in rare instances, civilians had tactical shotguns and semi-automatic rifles, but their use led to very few deaths.
HOSPITAL INTIMIDATION
The report alleged that law-enforcing agencies attempted to conceal the extent of violence by intimidating hospitals.
“Security forces obstructed emergency medical treatment for injured protesters, interrogated patients, and collected their fingerprints from hospitals,” the UN report said.
“They also threatened medical personnel and seized hospital CCTV footage, making it clear that authorities were trying to identify protesters unlawfully and suppress evidence of state violence.”
THE DEATH OF ABU SAYED
The OHCHR conducted a detailed forensic analysis of the death of Abu Sayed, a student from Rangpur’s Begum Rokeya University, who became a symbol of the July-August protests.
“Sayed’s specific case was examined in depth, including footage showing him standing with arms raised during a protest, shouting ‘shoot me’ at police.”
Using video analysis, still images, and geolocation technology, investigators reconstructed the circumstances of his death.
“Forensic analysis concluded that he was shot at least twice from approximately 14 metres away with a shotgun loaded with metal projectiles,” the report said.
“There is reasonable cause to believe that Abu Sayed was deliberately executed by police in an extrajudicial killing.”
The UN report also documented gender-based violence during the protests, saying that women at the forefront of demonstrations faced arbitrary arrest, torture, and assault by security forces and the Awami League supporters.
Women were also subjected to threats of sexual violence to deter their participation.
Children were among the victims, with some being killed or maimed by security forces.
The report cited the case of a 12-year-old protester in Dhanmondi who died from internal bleeding after being struck by nearly 200 metal pellets.
Other casualties included children who were either brought to the protests by their parents or were hit by stray bullets while passing by.
One case in Narayanganj involved a 6-year-old girl who was shot in the head while watching a protest clash from her rooftop.
On Aug 5, the deadliest day of the crackdown, a 12-year-old boy injured by police gunfire in Azampur described how officers “fired bullets like rain everywhere”.
He recalled seeing at least a dozen bodies.
HELICOPTER DEPLOYMENT
The UN report also highlighted the use of helicopters to disperse protests, noting that tear gas and sound grenades were deployed from aircraft, though it could not confirm whether live ammunition was fired.
It said RAB, police, and the army aviation unit were involved in helicopter operations during the protests.
“Particularly, RAB’s black helicopters were used to intimidate protesters and deploy forces. According to senior officials, the then-home minister requested an increase in helicopter operations, while military officers directly informed the prime minister about their deployments,” the report said.
Witnesses said helicopters frequently deployed tear gas in areas such as Mirpur, Mohakhali, Dhanmondi, Badda, Mohammadpur, Shahbagh, Bashundhara, Gazipur, and Jatrabari.
A stun grenade was fired from a helicopter in Rampura on Jul 18.
The UN cited police and RAB sources confirming helicopter use but only for deploying tear gas and stun grenades.
However, some witnesses claimed they saw security forces firing rifles and shotguns from helicopters.
One survivor of an armour-piercing bullet wound near Jamuna Future Park on Aug 5 said he was shot from an “olive-green helicopter”.
Despite these accounts, the UN human rights office said that it could not definitively confirm whether live rounds were fired from helicopters.
It suggested that some victims who were shot from above might have been hit by rounds fired from elevated ground rather than directly from helicopters.
