Troops withdraw after Bangladesh university clashes

DHAKA, Aug 21 (Reuters) Bangladesh's army-backed government began to withdraw troops from Dhaka University today after clashes in which witnesses said at least 150 students were injured.

Soldiers had been camping in the gymnasium at the country's largest university since January when the interim administration deployed troops after months of political violence.

Angry students, fed up with having the army on campus, had earlier burned a military van and damaged at least 50 vehicles.

Police fired teargas and rubber bullets to disperse the stone-throwing and stick-wielding students, injuring at least 150, witnesses said.

The country's interim administration said it had ordered troops to withdraw from the campus, following the protests.

''The interim government deeply apologised for the incident and ordered immediate withdrawal of the army camp from the campus and an inquiry into the unfortunate incident,'' a statement from the information ministry said in the evening.

Students danced in the streets with burning candles to celebrate as army troops started to wind up their camp.

They chanted ''victory, victory.'' But Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof. A F M Yusuf Haider asked students to calm down.

More than 100 students had been injured in similar clashes overnight, after students protested against the presence of army troops at Dhaka University stadium during a football match, university officials and witnesses said.

EMERGENCY POWERS Protests and street assemblies have been banned since the interim government took power on January 12 under a state of emergency. The administration has vowed to clean up political corruption before holding an election late next year.

Monday's unrest, the first major defiance of the emergency restrictions, spread across campus after troops assaulted some students. Hundreds of police rushed in, firing teargas and rubber bullets, the witnesses said.

Violence flared anew today as hundreds of students returned to campus carrying sticks and challenging police. Police again responded by firing teargas shells, witnesses said.

The students hit back with sticks and stones.

Classes and exams were postponed at Dhaka University in the wake of the violence, while students called for an indefinite strike on the 40,000-strong campus.

A statement from army headquarters said a soldier who was accused of starting a brawl with students yesterday had been withdrawn from duty to face an inquiry.

As reports of the Dhaka University violence spread beyond the capital, students at Jahangirnagar University, 40 km (25 miles) north of the city, barricaded a highway for several hours on Tuesday, damaging a dozen vehicles.

Student protests also spread to Sher-e-Bangla University at Mirpur in the capital Dhaka and at the country's two other major universities, Chittagong University in the southeast and Rajshahi University in the northwest.

REUTERS GT BD2316