Bangladesh police clash with protesters calling for PM resignation

Bangladesh police have fired rubber bullets and tear gas at stone-throwing opposition party supporters blocking major roads in the capital Dhaka to demand the prime minister’s resignation.

Supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Saturday set fire to buses and exploded petrol bombs, according to police and local media, as they demanded that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina step down and that the next election, expected early next year, be held under a neutral caretaker government.

The party, in disarray since its leader Khaleda Zia was jailed in 2018 on corruption charges, has held bigger protest rallies in recent months, including one on Friday, drawing tens of thousands of supporters amid anger about the cost of living.

On Saturday, the BNP said dozens of its supporters were injured. Police said at least 20 officers were hurt in the clashes. At least 90 people were arrested, while two senior BNP leaders were taken into police custody and later freed, police said.

Senior BNP leader Abdul Moyeen Khan denounced the police action as an “injustice”.

(Aljazeera)