— Photo: AFP
Dhaka: In Bangladesh, an official was killed and several protesters were injured due to clashes in large-scale protests against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
According to international media, more than 100,000 demonstrators from Bangladesh’s two main opposition political parties demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to allow free and fair voting under a neutral government.
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters in the center of the capital, sparking several hours of violent clashes in central Dhaka that left one officer dead and several others injured.
Live footage on the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) verified Facebook page showed thousands of protesters running for safety from police shelling. On the other hand, the protesters responded by throwing stones and bricks at the police.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Farooq Hussain said one officer was killed and more than 100 were injured “when the constable was stabbed in the head by opposition activists.”
According to local journalists, the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami protests were the biggest so far this year, and with general elections within three months, marked a new phase of their protests.
According to Police Inspector Bacho Mia, at least 20 people were injured by rubber bullets and were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Clashes broke out in front of the city’s largest Catholic church after opposition supporters allegedly torched a bus and a police station. Besides, BNP has called for a nationwide strike on Sunday against violence.
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