The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies have staged a series of protests since last year demanding Sheikh Hasina step down and allow a caretaker government to oversee elections due next January. At least four protest sites around the city saw clashes between police and protesters, Mr. Hossain said, with 20 officers injured and 90 protesters arrested. Bacchu Mia, a police inspector at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, told AFP that six protesters had been admitted to the hospital with injuries. Transport links between the capital and other parts of the country were badly disrupted, with trucks and buses stuck in gridlock. Ms. Hasina's Awami League has ruled Bangladesh since 2009 and has been accused of human rights abuses, corruption and creeping authoritarianism.

Source: The Hindu July 29, 2023 16:17 UTC