Protest for Palestine: KFC, Bata, Domino's stores vandalised in various places across country
Thousands of people took to the streets to protest against Israel's attacks and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza in solidarity with the global strike for Palestine
Pro-Palestine protesters today (7 April) vandalised local outlets of American fast food restaurant chains KFC in Sylhet, Chattogram, Khulna, Barishal and Cumilla, reports our correspondents.
In Sylhet city, in addition to KFC, a Domino's Pizza and a Bata store were also vandalised.
In Chattogram, a KFC outlet, a Pizza Hut outlet, a Puma showroom and a number of Coca-Cola signboards were vandalised at Sanmar Ocean City Shopping Mall.
In Barishal, a KFC outlet's signboard was vandalised on the Jibananda Das Road.
The protesters claimed that KFC is funding Israel.
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Tha vandalism took place as thousands of people took to the streets across the country to protest against Israel's attacks and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza in solidarity with the global strike for Palestine.
Sylhet
In Sylhet, protesters vandalised a KFC showroom in the city's Mirboxtula area.
At around 2:30pm, a procession of several hundred protesters was heading towards Naya Road from Chowhatta.
After reaching the Mirboxtula area, the procession stopped in front of a multi-storey building called Royal Park. During this time, the protesters extensively vandalised the KFC outlet located on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building.
They threw stones and vandalised the glass and furniture of KFC.
Later, they hoisted the Palestinian flag on the wall of KFC.
After the vandalism, the protesters hoisted a Palestinian flag on the wall of the showroom.
At that time, a pickup truck loaded with Coca-Cola and various soft drinks, including 7-Up, was passing through the road. Protesters blocked the pickup truck, broke all the bottles of the drinks, and scattered them on the road.
Video of the incident went viral.
At about the same time, two other separate processions vandalised the local outlets of Domino's Pizza in Chowhatta and Bata showroom in Dargah Gate.
Members of various political parties, organisations and educational institutions participated in these protests for Palestine, which continued until the afternoon. In addition, classes and examinations at various educational institutions were also suspended.
Protesters also called for a boycott of Israeli products.
Chattogram
Hundreds of agitated students and civilians vandalised a KFC outlet at GEC intersection and a number of Coca-Cola signboards in different parts of Chattogram city.
The incident occurred around 4:15pm when a protest march, organised by several local groups, reached the area adjacent to Sanmar Ocean City Shopping Mall. The building, which features a KFC restaurant and prominent Coca-Cola branding, came under attack as protesters threw stones, bricks, and shoes at its glass façade.
The impact shattered several glass panels at the restaurant's front, though no injuries were immediately reported. It remains unclear whether any staff or customers were inside the restaurant at the time.
Besides, a Pizza Hut outlet was also vandalised.
The protests were in response to a global call by Palestinians in Gaza for a "No Work, No School" strike, urging people around the world to take action against what they described as genocide being carried out by Israeli forces.
In Chattogram, at least 26 local organisations, including schools, colleges, universities, political parties, and civic groups, responded to the call by organizing rallies and protests throughout the city.
Earlier in the afternoon, around 3:30pm, a procession led by Students Against Discrimination (SAD), National Citizen Party (NCP) Inquilab Manch, and the Pahartali Thana branch of Hefazat-e-Islam began marching from the Biplob Udyan near 2 No Gate towards GEC. The demonstration drew participation from over a thousand individuals, including teachers, students, and citizens from various professions.
As the procession reached the Nasirabad area and approached the KFC outlet, it came to a halt. Protesters began chanting slogans expressing solidarity with Palestine and condemnation of Israel and its allies. This was followed by a sudden outburst of stone and shoe-throwing directed at the restaurant and surrounding buildings, causing significant property damage.
After briefly regrouping, the protesters moved toward GEC intersection and then toward Gate-2. However, they returned shortly afterward and directed their anger at a Coca-Cola signboard located atop a building near Hotel Zaman and above the local traffic inspector's office. More stones were hurled, resulting in broken glass from the building's front.
Throughout the protest, demonstrators chanted slogans such as "Tera mera rishta kya, La ilaha illallah," "Naraye Takbir, Allahu Akbar," "We want justice," "Why did my brother die, United Nations, we demand justice," "Boycott Israel," "Throw shoes at America and Zionists," "We will peel the skin off Israel," and "One, two, three, four — genocide no more." The slogans echoed deep anger and frustration over the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and demanded immediate global intervention.
Barishal
In Barishal, protests throughout the day through various activities including road blockades, demonstrations, rallies and prayers on the streets.
During this time, the protesters vandalised the Barisal branch of KFC, which provides financial assistance to Israel. The students and the public demanded that KFC's activities be removed from Barisal.
Kotwali Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mizanur Rahman said, "The protesters protested in front of KFC during the pror-Palestine processions. Although the KFC banner was broken, there was no major damage. The situation is currently under our control. Traffic on that road has returned to normal."
At around 11:00am, the protests began on the road in front of Ashwini Kumar Hall in the city. Protesters blocked roads and brought out a procession that circled the main roads of the city.
The participants in the protest displayed various posters such as "Save Gaza", "Stop Israel's genocide", "We want fair rights for the Palestinians", "Netanyahu is an enemy of humanity", "Netanyahu is a child killer" and shouted anti-war slogans.
Khulna
Thousands of people have protested in Khulna condemning the massacre of unarmed people in Palestine. At one stage, they attacked a KFC at Moylapota intersection in Khulna city.
Protesters, under the banners of various organisations, gathered at Shibbari intersection from 3:30pm and held a protest rally.
Later, a group from there headed towards the city's garbage dump. Around 6:30pm, they attacked KFC.
Many were seen holding placards with Palestinian flags and slogans calling for a boycott of Israeli goods, and protesters also called for a boycott of Israeli goods and the crippling of their economy.
As part of the 'No Work, No School' programme, students from various schools, colleges, and universities in the city, as well as religious and political organisations, participated in the protest programme.
Earlier, protest processions were brought out from different areas of the city, schools, colleges, universities and neighborhoods and gathered at Shibbari intersection in the city.
Cumilla
In the evening, a KFC outlet in the Ranir Bazaar area of Cumilla city was attacked by a group of people.
However, no one was injured or killed in the incident, according to police and local sources.
Locals said the store was closed following reports of attacks on KFC stores in other parts of the country. While it was closed, a group of 25 to 30 people came to the building at 6:33pm and started protesting and shouting slogans.
At one stage, some youths climbed the two floors of the building and vandalised it, while the people below broke the glass of the store by throwing rocks and bricks.
Cumilla Kotwali Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohinul Islam said it is not yet known who carried out the attack.
However, the authorities say that nothing was lost.
"They could not cause much vandalism. They fled after only three minutes. Legal action is being taken in this regard," said the OC
