Bangladesh hangs opposition leaders for war crimes

DHAKA — Bangladesh hanged two top opposition leaders Sunday for war crimes committed during the independence conflict with Pakistan and boosted security across the country over fears the executions could spark fresh unrest.

Thousands of extra police and border guards were deployed in Dhaka and other major cities and towns on the eve of a general strike called to protest against the executions.

Supporters of the ruling Awami League meanwhile greeted the executions of Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid and Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury by holding street parties, distributing sweets to children.

Bangladesh has been roiled by violence for much of the last three years since a domestic tribunal began delivering its verdicts on opposition figures accused of orchestrating massacres during the 1971 war.

A total of 18 people have been convicted but only two had been sent to the gallows before Mujahid and Chowdhury were hanged at Dhaka's Central Prison shortly before 1:00 a.m.

While the other three were members of the largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, Chowdhury was a senior figure in the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Jamaat, banned from contesting the 2014 general election, said the executions were part of a strategy "aimed at eliminating" its leadership.

The BNP also accused Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of presiding over a politically-motivated killing which was carried only hours after its leader Khaleda Zia returned from a lengthy stay in London.

Some of the tightest security measures were in place in the hometowns of the two executed men whose funerals were held on Sunday morning.

"We've stepped up security across the country to prevent any violence, including on the roads along which the bodies were taken," police spokesman Munstashirul Islam told AFP.

Hundreds of police were deployed outside the central city of Faridpur where Mujahid was buried soon after day break, according to security officials.

Reinforcements were also sent to Chowdhury's hometown of Raojan in the southeast.

The 67-year-old Mujahid, Jamaat's official number two, was sentenced for war crimes such as the killing of top intellectuals.

Chowdhury, 66, was convicted for atrocities including genocide during the 1971 war when the then East Pakistan split from Islamabad. He served six terms as a member of parliament and was one of Zia's top aides.