Police in northeastern Bangladesh used batons and tear gas to disperse opposition activists amid a political dispute over who would oversee the next election, which expected to held in January, police and activists said Sunday.
Around 300 people injured in the clash on Saturday evening, including some with bullets, the country’s leading Bengali-language daily newspaper Prothom Alo reported.
Thus, adding that police had opened fire on supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which is led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
The United News of Bangladesh agency said as many as 150 people including police officers hurt in the clashes, which occurred in Habiganj town.
G.K. Gaus, a local leader in Ms. Zia’s party, said chaos broke out after thousands of party supporters began marching through the streets. Police confronted them and ordered them to stop
Palash Ranjan Dey, a police official in Habiganj district, said police forced to take action after opposition activists suddenly attacked them while trying to break a police barricade.
Ms. Zia’s party has been demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the transfer of power to a non-party caretaker government until the next general election.
Ms. Zia’s party and its allies accuse Ms. Hasina of vote rigging in 2018 and the party has been protesting over who should oversee the next general election