DHAKA: At least four people were killed in Bangladesh yesterday when supporters of Islamist leader Abdul Quader Mollah vented their fury at his execution for war crimes committed during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.
The decision to hang Mollah, a senior figure in the Jamaat-e-Islami party that is a key part of the opposition coalition, drew widespread condemnation from political allies and international human rights groups.
But many citizens celebrated the first ever execution of a Bangladesh war criminal.
“It is a great gift to me as person, and it is consistent with the spirit of our liberation war,” Selina Hossain, a writer whose family was tortured during the conflict, said. Mollah, dubbed the “Butcher of Mirpur” in Bangladesh for his part in hundreds of killings 42 years ago, was buried in the early hours of yesterday in his home village in the southern district of Faridpur.
In the latest violence, Jamaat supporters set fire to vehicles and houses, looted shops, set off crude bombs and blocked roads in several parts of the country.
Reuters
