Bangladesh crisis persists as violent protests rock Dhaka again

Violent protests rocked Bangladesh's capital city Dhaka on November 10 after a protest announced by the Awami League party met with strong resistance from student groups and pro-government outfits.

Several workers of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League party were attacked across the city by the student groups that had played a crucial role in the downfall of the previous government.

Foiling attempts to stage a show of strength, students blocked Awami League members from gathering at key locations. According to Bangladeshi media reports, they assaulted at least 10 people, including two women, in the Gulistan area alone on suspicion of being affiliated with the League. Several protesters were handed over to the police.

The Dhaka Tribune reported that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Khaleda Zia, along with Jamaat-e-Islami members, had occupied Awali League offices, its Dhaka Headquarters and other potential protest sites. BNP activists, working alongside students, raided multiple hotels and searched hundreds of vehicles, detaining around 50 individuals.

Awami League leaders had called on supporters, party members, and underground groups to gather at key locations such as Gulistan, Zero Point, and Nur Hossain Square to protest the alleged false accusations against their leaders, the banning of the student wing Chhatra League, and the harassment of party workers.

Earlier, hundreds of workers and supporters of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's party, the Awami League, were arrested by the Bangladesh Army.

The arrests come in response to a planned protest scheduled in Dhaka on November 10, against the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, following which 191 platoons of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have also been deployed across the city and other areas ahead of the protest.