Bangladeshi forces clash with supporters of ousted leader Hasina, leaving at least 4 dead
The violence erupted in the morning and spread as a new political party formed by students who led the uprising against Ms. Hasina in August last year announced a march toward the southwestern Gopalganj district, Ms. Hasina's ancestral home, and her Awami League party's stronghold.
Authorities later imposed an overnight curfew in the district.
Since Ms. Hasina's ouster 11 months ago, Bangladesh has been marked by chaos and unchecked mob violence. Wednesday's attack underscores the deep divisions in the country as its interim government keeps failing to bring the deteriorating security situation under control.
TV footage showed pro-Hasina activists armed, attacking police with sticks and setting vehicles on fire as a convoy of about 20 vehicles carrying the leaders of the students' National Citizen Party arrived as part of commemorations of the uprising.
Party leaders took shelter in the office of the local police chief. Footage showed top leaders were being escorted by soldiers to an armored vehicle for safety. They later left for a neighboring district with security escorts.
Jibitesh Biswas, a senior official of a state-run hospital, told reporters that the bodies of at least three people had been brought in. The country's leading English-language Daily Star reported that four people died.
The interim government said Wednesday the attackers on the students would not go 'unpunished" and in a statement issued on behalf of interim leader Muhammad Yunus, described the violence in Gopalganj as 'utterly indefensible."
Ms. Hasina's Awami League party, which authorities banned in May, issued several statements on X condemning the violence and blaming the interim government for the deaths and injuries.
'We urge the world to take note of this blatant use of security apparatus,' one Awami statement said, adding that it had used mob violence against 'dissenters.'
Student leader Nahid Islam gave the authorities a 24-hour ultimatum to arrest those responsible for the Gopalganj violence and floated the prospect of another march in the neighboring district of Faridpur on Thursday.
The right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami party condemned the attacks on the student-led party and announced a nationwide protest in all districts and main cities for Thursday.
Critics of the interim government warn of a widening polarisation that has reduced hopes for national reconciliation even as Mr. Yunus' administration pledges to bring order in the post-Hasina era. They say if the situation does not improve, a peaceful transition to democracy would be jeopardized.
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