DHAKA, 29 October 2006 — At least six people were killed and around 1,000 wounded, many by bullets, in violent clashes between the supporters of the outgoing government and the opposition across Bangladesh yesterday, raising the death toll to 11 in the last 24 hours.

Four political leaders and activists mainly belonging to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Jamaat-e-Islami were killed by their Awami League rivals Friday.

Yesterday’s victims include Union Parishad (UP) chairman and BNP leader and his brother, and an activist of Islami Chhattra Shibir, student front of Jamaat-e-Islami.

A caretaker government to oversee the country’s upcoming polls will be installed by tonight, an opposition leader said after meeting with the president, hinting at an end to a political crisis that has fueled deadly riots.

Violence erupted after the opposition refused to accept a retired chief justice invited to lead the interim government.

“A new government will be installed by Sunday evening,” Abdul Jalil, general secretary of the main opposition Awami League party, told reporters after meeting with President Iajuddin Ahmed and Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, an outgoing government minister.

The government of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia — which ended its five-year term yesterday — had invited K.M. Hasan to lead Bangladesh until the general election due in January.

The opposition alliance, however, refused to accept Hasan as caretaker chief, saying he once belonged to Khaleda’s party and could not therefore be impartial as required under the constitution.

The choice of Hasan sparked riots in the capital Dhaka and across the country.

The violence which began on Friday continued yesterday, with riot police firing tear gas, rubber bullets and warning shots in the air to disperse thousands of stone-throwing protesters in the capital, Dhaka.

“We have agreed to a caretaker government headed by someone else but K.M. Hasan,” Jalil said.

Jalil earlier said the opposition would accept another former chief justice, Mahmudul Amin Chowdhury, as leader of the interim administration.

Hasan was due to take over from Khaleda yesterday, but the government late Friday said there would be a delay in the handover, saying Hasan had been taken sick — a claim the opposition alliance debunked.

“We don’t believe K.M. Hasan is sick ... we have information from his close sources that he is unwilling to take over as the head of the caretaker administration,” opposition spokesman Jalil said.

Hasan, 67, later yesterday, said he turned down the position of caretaker chief because of doubts about his impartiality.

“I’m doing this for the interest of the people and as a patriot who loves his country,” Hasan said in a statement.

Khaleda, meanwhile, at a rally in downtown Dhaka, restated her pledge to hand power to the caretaker government, but did not say when.

She criticized the opposition for creating anarchy and asked her supporters to retaliate. Angry mobs smashed or burned vehicles and Khaleda’s party offices, along with tires and furniture looted from nearby shops.

At least six people were killed in the rioting, according to reports.

Two people died in violence in downtown Dhaka, the United News of Bangladesh agency reported. One person died in southeastern Chittagong and another in northern Kurigram district, the agency said without providing details.

Also, two members of Khaleda’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party were shot dead in central Narsingdi district, the agency said.

At least 300 more people were injured yesterday, the agency said.

Dhaka, a city of 10 million people, was virtually cut off from the rest of the country as thousands of protesters blocked highways leading to it, TV footage showed. Khaleda can stay in power for a maximum of 15 more days until the interim administration is installed, according to the Constitution.

Khaleda’s departure has been further clouded by the defection from her party of more than two dozen politicians protesting alleged corruption and incompetence in her administration.

— With input from agencies