Bangladesh police clash with pro-Hasina activists, at least three dead

Interim person Yunus says Awami League members committed ‘heinous act’ successful effort to disrupt rally of student-led NCP.

Bangladeshi information forces clashed with supporters of deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, leaving astatine slightest 3 radical dormant and galore injured.

Violence broke retired Wednesday successful the confederate municipality of Gopalganj erstwhile members of Hasina’s Awami League tried to disrupt a rally by the National Citizens Party (NCP), which is made up of students who spearheaded the unrest that toppled the person past year.

TV footage showed pro-Hasina activists equipped with sticks attacking constabulary and mounting vehicles connected occurrence arsenic NCP leaders arrived astatine the caller party’s “March to Rebuild the Nation” programme commemorating the uprising.

Monoj Baral, a caregiver astatine the Gopalganj District Hospital, told the quality bureau AFP that 3 radical were killed. Local media, including the English-language Daily Star, said that 4 had died.

One of the dormant was identified by Baral arsenic Ramjan Sikdar. The different 2 were taken distant from the infirmary by their families, said Baral.

Authorities imposed an overnight curfew successful the district.

Bangladesh’s interim person Muhammad Yunus, who replaced Hasina 3 days aft her overthrow past year, said that the effort by the erstwhile leader’s supporters to foil the NCP rally was “a shameful usurpation of their cardinal rights”.

“This heinous enactment … volition not spell unpunished,” said a connection from the Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s office.

Hasnat Abdullah, an NCP coordinator, said rally attendees took refuge astatine a constabulary presumption aft being attacked. “We don’t consciousness harmless astatine all. They threatened to pain america alive,” helium told AFP.

New governmental force

Bangladesh has been successful governmental turmoil since Hasina was toppled astir a twelvemonth ago.

Hasina, who fled to India pursuing a student-led uprising past August, faces respective charges. This month, she was sentenced successful absentia to six months successful situation for contempt of tribunal by the country’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).

Gopalganj is simply a politically delicate territory due to the fact that the mausoleum of Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, is located there.

Rahman, the country’s founding president, was buried determination aft helium was assassinated on with astir of his household members successful a subject coup successful 1971.

Hasina would spell connected to contention elections from the constituency.

The NCP march was launched connected July 1 crossed each districts successful Bangladesh arsenic portion of its thrust to presumption itself arsenic a caller unit successful Bangladeshi politics.

The country’s governmental scenery has been mostly dominated by 2 dynastic families: Hasina’s Awami League enactment and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party of erstwhile Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

Yunus has said an predetermination volition beryllium held successful April adjacent year.