Bangladesh protest death toll rises to 76

Authorities deploy troops as fresh clashes erupt

DHAKA, March 3, (AFP): Bangladesh deployed troops in part of the country after fresh clashes erupted Sunday, taking the death toll to 76 in weeks of violence over the conviction of Islamist leaders for war crimes.

Twenty people were killed in the latest bout of violence as the largest Islamic party Jamaat-eIslami declared a nationwide strike to denounce the trials. In the northern district of Bogra more than 10,000 Jamaat supporters armed with sticks and home-made bombs attacked 12 police stations, torching four of them and two government offices, police said.

“They came from the villages and attacked the stations at dawn. Nine people were killed in Bogra district including four who were killed in Shahjahanpur (town),” police Inspector Shamsul Haq told AFP.

Troops have been deployed in Shahjahanpur to strengthen security, he said. Video footage also showed troops in the area.

Six people were shot dead in the northwestern town of Panchbibi after security officials opened fire at about 12,000 protesters, district chief Mohammad Yasin said.

“The forces fired after they were besieged by the protesters for about two hours. They were armed with sticks, machetes and home-made sharp weapons,” he told AFP, adding at least 70 people were injured, many by bullets.

Apoliceman was beaten to death by protesters in a western district.

The death toll in the clashes over the war crimes verdicts has risen to 76 since the first ruling was announced on January 21, police said, including 60 killed in the four days since Jamaat’s vice-president was sentenced to death.

Delwar Hossain Sayedee was Thursday found guilty of murder, religious persecution and rape during the 1971 independence war against Pakistan.

The sentence triggered violent clashes across the country between rampaging Jamaat supporters and police.

The 73-year-old firebrand preacher was the third person to be convicted by the war crimes tribunal. Jamaat says the process is an attempt by the ruling party to settle scores and not about delivering justice.

The Islamic party called for two days of nationwide strikes starting Sunday to protest at the verdicts and the killing of its activists by police.

Security was tight in the capital Dhaka with around 10,000 policemen on patrol and shops and schools closed. Inter-city motorways and roads in Dhaka and the port city of Chittagong were empty.

The latest clashes were also fuelled by rumours that images of Sayedee’s face were reflected off the surface of the moon, leading many Islamists to assert that he was innocent, Inspector Shamsul Haq of Bogra told AFP.