DHAKA, 10 December 2005 — A banned militant group blamed for a series of bombings in Bangladesh has threatened to kill women, including non-Muslims, if they do not wear veil, a statement said.
The statement by the Jamatul Mujahedeen came hours after Thursday’s suicide bomb attack in a northern town that killed at least eight people, the latest of a series of blasts blamed on militant groups.
“Women will be killed if they are found to move around without wearing burqa (veil) from the first day of Dul Hijjah,” the Jamatul Mujahedeen said in the statement sent to a Dhaka newspaper office.
“Women, including non-Muslims, are hereby advised not to go out of home without burqa. Seclusion has been made compulsory for you,” said the statement in Bangla language, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters yesterday.
The group, which wants the enforcement of Shariah laws in the country, also ordered women students at Dhaka University not to step out after sunset, prompting police to increase security around the campus.
Earlier, a police officer said 30 suspected members of the Jamatul Mujahedeen and another outlawed group, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh, were arrested for involvement in a wave of bomb attacks that have rattled the impoverished nation this year.
A dozen bombs were seized in raids across the country, the official said, as police hunted for the leaders of the two outlawed groups.
Two bombs exploded on a crowded street in the northern town of Netrokona on Thursday, killing eight people and wounding 50, many on their way to work.
The suspects were detained in Netrokona town, said police investigators who can’t be identified because they are not authorized to speak to the media. The officers refused to provide further details.
About 1,000 mourners rallied in Netrokona yesterday, waving black flags in a mark of mourning and carrying banners that read “Arrest the bombers, punish the bombers.”
The mourners stood silently for about five minutes at the site before dispersing peacefully.
In Dhaka tens of thousands of people marched through the city center chanting “Suicide bombers are Islam’s enemies,” and “Suicide bombers are misguided” following Friday prayers.
