B'desh opposition calls strike to protest deaths

BANGLADESH: Riot police used batons and tear gas to break up thousands of anti-government protesters in Bangladesh, leaving a protester and a police officer dead, police and news reports said.

Violence broke out in the capital Dhaka and a neighbouring town after opposition party supporters took to the streets to demand electoral reforms and the resignation of election officials. Police used batons and tear gas shells to battle the mobs who threw bricks at them and smashed commuter vehicles.

Golam Rasul Milon, a protester, died after being hit by a tear gas shell in Dhaka's Mahakhali district, the opposition Awami League party said.

Police official Mahbubur Rahman confirmed Milon's death, but said it was unclear if he was struck by a shell or died of a heart attack during the melee.

The opposition Awami League party said it was calling a nationwide strike for Tuesday to protest the activist's killing.

At Sonargaon town outside Dhaka, police officer Abul Bashar died in hospital after he was struck by bricks thrown by protesters, his colleague Sharif Rezaul Karim told The Associated Press.

Dhaka, Monday, AP