DHAKA: Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at huge crowds of Bangladesh opposition supporters on Saturday (Oct 28) to break up a giant protest against the prime minister, with one officer killed and scores of people injured in several hours of violent clashes in central Dhaka.
More than 100,000 supporters of two major Bangladesh opposition parties rallied to demand Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina step down to allow a free and fair vote under a neutral government.
Live footage on the verified Facebook page of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) showed thousands of people running for safety as sound grenades went off one after another and plumes of black smoke rose from the roads.
Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) activists light fire during a rally demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the release of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, in Dhaka on Oct 28, 2023. (Photo: AFP/Munir uz Zaman)…see more
Police personnel (left) stand guard in front of Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) activists (right) during a rally demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the release of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, in Dhaka…see more
One officer was killed and more than 100 injured, said Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Faruk Hossain, telling AFP: “The constable was hacked in the head by opposition activists.”
The protests by the BNP and the largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, were the biggest so far this year, AFP journalists on site said and marked a new phase in their protests with a general election due within three months.
Hasina – daughter of the country’s founding leader – has been in power for 15 years and has overseen rapid economic growth with Bangladesh overtaking neighbouring India in GDP per capita, but inflation has risen and her government is accused of corruption and human rights abuses.
– CNA
