Mob Burns Newspaper Office in Bangladesh, Trapping Staff on Roof

A journalist has given a harrowing account of the night a violent mob torched the Daily Star newspaper offices in Bangladesh, trapping 28 staff members on the roof as flames engulfed the building.

The attack, carried out by a large group of assailants, targeted one of the country's most respected independent media outlets. Staff members were forced to flee upstairs as the mob set fire to the ground floors.

"I can't breathe any more," one journalist recalled thinking as smoke filled the upper levels of the building. The staff huddled together on the roof, desperately awaiting rescue as the fire raged below.

The incident marks a disturbing escalation in attacks on press freedom in Bangladesh. Journalists and media workers have increasingly found themselves targets of violence and intimidation.

International press freedom organisations have condemned the attack, calling for immediate action to protect journalists and hold those responsible accountable. The targeting of a major newspaper represents a serious threat to independent media in the country.