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Journalists flee mob as Dhaka newsroom set ablaze
Updated 26 February 2026 - A late-night assault on Bangladesh's largest English-language newspaper left 28 staff trapped on a smoke-filled rooftop for four hours, escaping only after the army breached a rear wall at dawn.
The night of the attack
Zyma Islam, an investigative reporter at The Daily Star, finished her lead story on the killing of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi just minutes before a mob stormed the building. Hadi, a key figure in the August ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, had died in a Singapore hospital after being shot outside a Dhaka mosque.
Protesters accused the newspaper of complicity in Hadi's death, though no evidence supported the claim. Social media posts branded the paper an "Indian agent," echoing anti-India rhetoric from political factions. Earlier protests had already targeted the office.
Trapped on the roof
Islam and colleagues fled to the rooftop as the mob shattered windows and set fires below. "We knew they would burn the building," she said. Smoke billowed up the elevator shaft, reducing visibility to zero. Staff soaked shirts in water, pressed them to their faces, and lay flat to breathe. One colleague collapsed; another threatened to jump to an adjacent building.
"I can't breathe any more. There's too much smoke. I'm inside. You are killing me."
Zyma Islam, Facebook post, 18 December
At 00:24 local time (18:24 GMT), Islam called police while climbing the dark stairwell. By 00:50, the smoke was impenetrable. "If I held my hand in front of my face, I couldn't see it," she recalled.
Rescue and aftermath
The army arrived at 04:30, forming a cordon to let staff escape down the fire escape. They scaled a rear wall, jumping onto a rickshaw van placed below. Though some were injured, all survived. Islam later received treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning.
The Daily Star missed its first print edition in 34 years but resumed publication within 15 hours. Staff worked remotely from gutted offices, repairing two editorial floors in two weeks. The building remains scarred: archives torched, a photo exhibition burned, and the auditorium reduced to a shell.
Unanswered questions
Police arrested 37 people immediately after the attack but have not identified the mob's organizers. The newspaper estimates losses at $2 million. Islam, who called her parents during the ordeal with a terse "I'm stuck," reflected on the broader climate for journalists.
"Bangladesh isn't a conflict zone. But it doesn't give the same rights and protections to its journalists the way democracies are supposed to."
Zyma Islam
The 20 December edition carried a single-word headline: "Unbowed." Managing editor Kamal Ahmed praised the team's resilience: "Those afraid for their lives started working after just 15 hours. We are not going to give up."
