100 Injured by Protests in Bangladesh
Police opened fire on demonstrators in the capital Sunday as clashes continued across the country between backers of President Hussain Mohammed Ershad and opponents demanding his resignation.
About 100 people were wounded in shootings, stabbings and bombings, and at least 40 were arrested, police said.
Supporters of the ruling Jatiya Party clashed with opposition workers in Bangladesh’s main cities, using bombs and revolvers, authorities said.
Protesters battled for five hours at Dhaka’s Aga Masih Lane and for two hours in Azimpur until police dispersed them with gunfire. Police said about 20 people were wounded by bombings and the gunfire.
Demonstrators also burned Ershad in effigy and torched cars and offices of the Jatiya Party municipality building, where they held 25 workers hostage, including a legislator. Paramilitary police rescued the hostages after regular police could not.
In Barisal and Faridpur, in southern Bangladesh, about 55 people were injured when Jatiya and opposition party workers clashed. In Jessore about 25 were injured in similar clashes.
Ershad’s opponents sabotaged rail service for the fourth consecutive day, attacking stations and uprooting tracks. Officials said three trains were derailed and five were stopped.
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