Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus on Thursday paid tribute to those killed in Bangladesh’s deadly protests that toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government, saying their sacrifices had brought the nation a “second independence.”

“Today is a glorious day for us,” he told reporters at the airport in Dhaka shortly after returning to the country to lead a caretaker government. “Bangladesh has created a new victory day. Bangladesh has got a second independence.”

Yunus returned to Bangladesh Thursday, landing at the capital’s airport ahead of his expected swearing in to lead a caretaker government, an AFP reporter said.