Five dead in Bangladesh clashes

DHAKA: Clashes in Bangladesh between police and supporters of the country’s biggest Islamic party left five dead yesterday during protests linked to ongoing war crimes trials, police and media said.
Jamaat-e-Islami activists have been staging countrywide strikes and rallies for months to protest against the trials which have placed nearly their entire party leadership in the dock, in cases dating back to the 1971 independence war.
Yesterda’s first incident occurred when lawmakers entered a village in northwestern Chapainawabganj district to arrest party activists accused of torching a power plant in such a protest last month. About 6,000 villagers gathered to try and prevent the arrests, leading police to open fire.
“We at first used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the mob, but they attacked us with hand bombs, sticks and bricks, forcing us to open fire,” deputy district police chief Motiur Rahman told AFP.
“We have heard the news of three men killed, but we have not seen any dead bodies,” he said.
Local media reports quoted villagers saying three Jamaat supporters were killed, two on the spot and one on the way to hospital.