The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council has released data on communal violence in the country for the first six months of 2026, stating that the overall pattern of violence remained largely similar to that witnessed over the 12 months of 2025.
At a press conference held at the National Press Club in Dhaka, the Council presented partial data showing that 257 incidents of communal violence were recorded across the country between January 1 and June 30, 2026. According to the data, 44 people were killed in 40 incidents during the six months.
The report further stated that five incidents involved torture, rape, or gang rape of women, while 10 incidents involved abduction, extortion, or torture. Additionally, 42 incidents involved attacks, death threats, or torture, while 62 incidents involved attacks on places of worship, idol desecration, looting, and arson.
The Council also reported 15 incidents involving the occupation or attempted occupation of land belonging to places of worship, 47 incidents involving attacks, vandalism, looting, and arson targeting homes and business establishments, nine incidents involving arrests and torture under false allegations of blasphemy, and 21 incidents involving the forcible seizure of land, homes, and businesses.
Highlighting the broader trend, the Council presented a comparative overview covering 23 months, including the five months from August 5 to December 31, 2024, the 12 months of 2025, and the first six months of 2026. According to the Council, 73.7 per cent of the total 2,963 incidents recorded during the 23 months occurred in the five months following August 5, 2024, which it described as a phase of large-scale mass violence.
The Council said 17.6 per cent of the total incidents occurred during 2025, while 8.7 per cent were recorded in the first six months of 2026. It noted that the scale of violence in 2024 was nearly 4.2 times higher than in 2025. Nearly 70 per cent of the total incidents involved attacks on homes and business establishments, while around 10 per cent targeted religious places of worship.
Bangladesh records 257 communal violence incidents in the first six months of 2026; 44 killed, 62 attacks on places of worship.
When faith is targeted, silence becomes complicity.
