Yahoo! News News Home - Help

AFP
Violence erupts in Bangladesh as government denies involvement in blasts

Sun Aug 22, 2:56 PM ET

DHAKA (AFP) - Strikes and violent demonstrations erupted across Bangladesh after a grenade attack at an opposition party rally killed 19 people, as the government denied opposition charges that it was behind the blasts.

Photo
AFP Photo

 

Saturday's attack occurred as Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina was finishing a speech outside of the party's headquarters in Dhaka, and many party officials have called the blasts an assassination attempt against the main opposition boss.

"A series of grenades went off at five to seven-second intervals giving the attackers smoke cover; as (Hasina) was rushed away by bodyguards, her bullet-proof car was hit by at least seven bullets," Sheikh Hasina's political secretary, Saber Hussain Chowdhury, told AFP.

"She came as close as you can possibly come to being assassinated. It was a well planned assassination attempt because even as she was herded into the vehicle, shots were fired. It was a very well coordinated and well thought out attack."

Hasina escaped with minor leg injuries, officials said, while Awami League secretary general Abdul Jalil said the number killed rose to 19 following the death of another blast victim at a private hospital.

Doctors at two Dhaka hospitals said 21 people were still being treated for serious injuries although an unknown number had also gone to private clinics.

The government Sunday denied any involvement with the blasts.

"No government can stage such (an) incident," said Abdul Mannan, secretary general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, a member of the government's four-party coalition.

"I have no language to condemn the incident," the official BSS news agency quoted him as saying.

"(The) Government is determined to arrest the offenders and give exemplary punishment. Terrorists are enemies of the nation and the country. They are also enemies of all political parties," he added.

Saturday's blasts sparked violent anti-government protests.

In the southeastern port of Chittigong 230 people were arrested after opposition supporters rampaged through the city Sunday torching vehicles, a police official told AFP.

Another angry mob set a Dhaka-bound express train alight in central Bangladesh as police fired blanks to disperse the crowd, a rail official said, adding that no one was injured in the riot.

Wildcat strikes brought several other cities to a standstill, officials and media reports said, and the Awami League called a two day country-wide general strike to start Tuesday to protest the attack.

Universities, higher education institutions and schools closed Sunday after the Awami League's student body announced an indefinite nationwide strike, the private NTV television reported.

Traffic was light Sunday on Dhaka's roads amid fears for a repeat of overnight clashes between police and political activists who set cars alight and damaged property, witnesses said.

Officers in riot gear blocked off the area around the Awami League party headquarters in the capital.

The government had appointed a senior High Court judge to carry out an judicial inquiry into the attack, BSS news agency added.


Story Tools
Mail to Friend  Email Story
Message Boards   Post/Read Msgs
Printer Version   Formatted Story  
Ratings: Would you recommend this story?
Not at all 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 Highly




Copyright © 2004 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AFP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Agence France Presse.
Copyright © 2004 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions or Comments
Privacy Policy -Terms of Service - Copyright Policy - Ad Feedback