Six members of the Bangladesh Army were injured during a clash that broke out between Ansar members and students near the secretariat in Dhaka last night. 

Of those injured, one was in critical condition, said a press release from the Inter Service Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) issued on Monday.

The incident occurred when around 10,000 Ansar members, who had been protesting near the Secretariat, refused to disperse despite assurances from the interim government that their demands would be met. 

The Ansar members had been blocking the entrances and confining several advisers of the interim government and other officials since morning.

The situation escalated when a group of students marched towards the Secretariat in an attempt to rescue the confined officials at around 9:00pm.

Some Ansar members attempted to breach Gate 3 of the Secretariat, leading to further chaos. 

“At that time, the Ansar members launched an unprovoked attack on students present at the scene and threw stones and used batons against Army personnel deployed in the area," read the press release.

In response, the soldiers, who initially tried to engage with the Ansar members to de-escalate the situation, were forced to fire 27 rounds of blank shots into the air to regain control. 

Subsequently, additional military forces were later deployed to disperse the Ansar members and restore order within the Secretariat area.

Following the intervention, the trapped advisers, the Director General of Ansar, and other high-ranking officials were safely evacuated from the Secretariat by Army personnel. 

Besides, several Ansar members who had intruded into the Secretariat and sought refuge were detained and handed over to the police.