At least 3 dead as Bangladesh police clash with supporters of ousted leader Hasina

5 hours ago 12

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Bangladeshi security forces have clashed with supporters of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, leaving at least three dead and scores injured

DHAKA, Bangladesh -- Bangladeshi security forces on Wednesday clashed with supporters of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, leaving at least three people dead and scores injured, a hospital official said.

The violence erupted in the morning and spread as a new political party formed by students who led the uprising against Hasina in August last year announced a march toward southwestern Gopalganj district, Hasina’s ancestral home, and her Awami League party’s stronghold.

TV footage showed pro-Hasina activists armed with sticks attacking police and setting vehicles on fire as a convoy of about 20 vehicles carrying the leaders of the National Citizen Party arrived as part of commemorations of the uprising. Top leaders of the party took shelter in the office of the local police chief as footage showed some of them were being escorted by soldiers to an armored vehicle for safety.

Jibitesh Biswas, a senior official of a state-run hospital, told reporters that at least three people were brought in dead.

Bangladesh has been in political turmoil since Hasina was toppled and fled to India. The interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, took over three days after her ouster and pledged to restore order. He said a new election would be held in April next year.

Gopalganj is a politically sensitive district because Hasina father’s mausoleum is located there. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s independence leader, was buried there after he was assassinated along with most of his family members in a military coup in 1971.

The students' party launched its “July March to Rebuild the Nation” on July 1 across all districts in Bangladesh as part of its drive to position itself as a new force in Bangladeshi politics, which as been largely dominated by two dynastic families.

One is Hasina’s Awami League party, and the other is the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, or BNP, headed by Hasina’s archrival Khaleda Zia, also a former prime minister.