DHAKA: Police in Bangladesh’s capital fired tear gas to disperse supporters of the main opposition party who threw stones at security officials during a rally demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the transfer of power to a non-partisan caretaker government to oversee general elections next year.
At least one policeman died and dozens of others were injured, alongside scores of opposition supporters, police and witnesses said.
Dhaka police spokesman Faruk Hossain told The Associated Press that violence late Saturday continued in at least 10 spots in Dhaka, where security forces confronted opposition activists who attacked them, vandalized vehicles and torched vehicles.
An opposition spokesman, Zahiruddin Swapan, said more than 1 million activists joined their rally, but Hossain put the number at about 200,000.
The violence broke out at the Kakrail area in Dhaka when activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia allegedly attacked a bus carrying the ruling Awami League’s members to a separate rally a few blocks away, witnesses and media reports said.
Footage on Somoy TV station showed a roadside police box was on fire, torched vehicles and shattered glass from a building. Violence spread by Saturday afternoon as security officials fired sound grenades and tear gas at the rally venue where Zia’s supporters chanted anti-government slogans.
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary general of Zia’s party, announced a daylong general strike across the country on Sunday, accusing security forces of ruining a “peaceful” rally.
“Our rally was peaceful. But the authorities have used excessive force to ruin our rally. They attacked our people mercilessly,” Swapan said.
Ekattor TV station reported that a police hospital also was attacked. An Associated Press team at the scene said that violence had spread in the area and many people took cover in nearby alleys.
The ruling party had earlier warned that any attempt to trigger violence would be met with force.
