DHAKA: Thirteen more people were killed yesterday and overnight on Saturday in Bangladesh in continuing protests sparked by the execution of a top Islamist leader, as the prime minister warned of a crackdown.
Police said they opened fire after Islamist supporters torched houses and fought street battles with them during a third day of unrest over the hanging of Abdul Quader Molla for mass murder during the 1971 war of independence.
Six people were killed yesterday, including four in the northern town of Patgram, and another seven died elsewhere overnight, police said.
The deaths occurred as Islamist supporters enforced a nationwide strike over the execution of Molla, a senior leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party.
“Police fired rifles after Jamaat protesters torched at least 20 houses belonging to ruling party supporters,” government administrator Habibur Rahman told AFP of the violence in Patgram.
“We have banned protests and gatherings in the area to prevent further violence.”
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina warned of strong action against the rioters, saying “We have shown enough patience. We will not tolerate any more.”
“People of the country know how to reply to these atrocities (the latest violence), we (government) also know how to respond to, control you (the rioters),” she told a rally late on Saturday to commemorate those killed in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.
Molla, 65, had been found guilty in February by a domestic tribunal of having been a leader of a pro-Pakistan militia that fought against the country’s independence and killed some of Bangladesh’s top professors, doctors, writers and journalists.
He was one of five condemned to death by the International Crimes Tribunal.
AFP
