Bangladesh: Elevated risk of attacks against Western interests

Event

On Wednesday, November 8, the Canadian government warned individuals traveling to Bangladesh of the elevated threat of militant attacks in the country. Global Affairs Canada has advised Canadian citizens to avoid nonessential travel to the country, and warned that militants "may be planning" attacks against Western interests in the country.

The Canadian travel warning follows a similar warning issued by the Australian government on Friday, November 3, which asserted that Australian authorities have "reliable information" suggesting that militants are planning attacks against Westerners in Bangladesh.

Context

The number of terrorist attacks has been gradually increasing in predominantly Muslim Bangladesh, a country of over 160 million people. Some terrorist groups, including Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS). JMB has claimed responsibility for several attacks in Bangladesh, including a July 2016 attack on a café in Dhaka's diplomatic quarter in which 22 people were killed. Furthermore, over the past few years, several prominent liberal writers and members of religious minorities have been assassinated.

The government is taking steps to address the terrorist threat, though Bangladesh's criminal justice system is still in the process of fully implementing the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009 (ATA). A Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTCU) was formed as a part of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police and began operations in February 2016. Additionally, the Bangladeshi Ministry of Religious Affairs and the National Committee on Militancy, Resistance, and Prevention work with imams and religious scholars to build public awareness against terrorism and to counter violent extremism.

Advice

Due to the high risk of terrorism in Bangladesh, travelers are advised to exercise vigilance when visiting sites deemed particularly likely to be targeted (public transportation, train stations, ports, airports, public or government buildings, embassies or consulates, international organizations, schools and universities, religious sites, markets, hotels and restaurants frequented by foreigners/Westerners, festivals, etc.) and report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities.