B'desh activists clash again over election, 1 dead

Dhaka, Nov 22: Rival activists armed with home-made bombs and sticks fought for a third straight day across Bangladesh today, witnesses said, as a political crisis gripped the country ahead of January elections.

A man was fatally stabbed in Bogra town, 250 km north of the capital Dhaka, after a rally calling for the dismissal of controversial election officials, witnesses said.

Bogra is a stronghold of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia, who ended her five-year term in October.

Some 40 people were hurt in the Bogra clashes and about 10 people were hurt when police used batons to disperse activists in Dhaka.

A 14-party alliance led by Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League has enforced an indefinite transport stoppage from Monday to press demands for the dismissal of Chief Election Commissioner M A Aziz and his deputies, accusing them of bias towards the BNP.

Three people were killed and around 200 hurt in clashes between rival activists yesterday, while two died and hundreds were hurt during a four-day stoppage last week.

Under Bangladesh law, elections are conducted by a caretaker government -- in this case headed by the president.

But Hasina has alleged that Iajuddin had not yet proved his neutrality and was being dictated to by Khaleda.

Reuters

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