DHAKA: Thousands of students rallied in Bangladesh on Thursday to mark the one-month anniversary of the fall of long-serving former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after deadly protests.

Students, workers and families of those killed in the unrest joined the “March for Martyrs” carrying the national flag and chanting slogans such as “Blood of the martyrs is our power”.

The anti-government protests started in July as a student-led movement against public sector job quotas and escalated into an nationwide uprising against Hasina.

More than 1,000 people lost their lives in the unrest, which forced Hasina to resign and flee to India on Aug. 5 just before before her official residence was stormed by crowds. The violence continued for several days after she fled. An interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus replaced Hasina’s administration, with the mandate to restore stability following the country’s deadliest violence since its independence in 1971, implement reforms, and organise fresh parliamentary elections.