Bangladesh deploys additional forces amid fresh opposition transport blockade

DHAKA, Bangladesh

Bangladesh on Sunday tightened the security in the capital Dhaka and other parts of the country in the first day of a fresh 48-hour nationwide transport blockade called by the opposition parties.

Twenty-seven units of Bangladesh Border Guard, a paramilitary force, 300 patrolling teams of the elite force Rapid Action Battalion, and additional police officers have been deployed in and out Dhaka, according to official announcements.

Meanwhile, over 12 incidents of arson, mostly setting busses on fire, have been reported since last night. Five buses were set on fire Saturday night and one on Sunday morning in Dhaka, Rafi Al Faruque, an fire service officer on duty, told Anadolu.

Long-route and inter-city bus services have been halted due to the transport blockade.

The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and like-minded parties announced a fresh spell of strike in protest against the mass arrests and attack on the opposition supporters.

They demanded the government to step down and hand over power to a neutral caretaker government ahead of the national election due in January 2024.

The head of the government, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, categorically denied the demand and repeated that the election will be held under her power.

The BNP claimed on Saturday night that at least nine of its members have been killed, 5,760 others injured, and 7,700 arrested, including BNP de-facto leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir since Oct. 28.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters that they have detained people involved in anarchy.

The opposition parties are demanding a neutral election-time government as the last two national elections under the Awami League party rule in 2018 and 2014 were allegedly mired in huge vote rigging and boycotted by the opposition parties. The Awami League, however, denied the allegations.