Violence erupts at Bangladesh youth rally, media report four killed

DHAKA: Violence erupted on Wednesday at a rally of Bangladesh’s youth-led National Citizen Party in the southern town of Gopalganj, with four people killed and more injured according to local media.

Deadly student-led protests forced long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to India in August last year, and since then there have been delays over promised reforms, growing protests and political division.

Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, who took over as interim head, said in a post on X that members of the NCP, police and media were attacked during a peaceful rally on Wednesday, with cars vandalised and individuals assaulted.

“Preventing young citizens from peacefully holding a rally to commemorate the one-year anniversary of their revolutionary movement is a shameful violation of their fundamental rights,” he said, blaming Hasina’s political party the Awami League and its student group for Wednesday’s violence.

BBC News Bangla reported that four people were killed while the local daily Prothom Alo said nine were injured.Police and hospital officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Authorities imposed a curfew. The Awami League said on Facebook that one of its members had been killed by army gunfire.