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DHAKA : The Bangladesh capital turned into a battlefield Tuesday as protesters, demanding the scrapping of elections later this month, hurled bombs and rocks at police, who responded by firing tear gas and rubber bullets.
Around 50,000 protesters, chanting "no elections on January 22", clashed with officers as the demonstrators attempted to march to the presidential palace, Bangabhaban, on the third day of a paralysing nationwide blockade.
In one clash at least 10 small bombs were thrown at riot police who responded with tear gas volleys, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene.
In a second similar incident, police also fired rubber bullets, the private Channel I and Ntv news channels said.
"The activists threw small bombs, rocks and stones at our officers and we had no choice but to retaliate with tear gas," said assistant police commissioner Rezaul Islam.
Thousands of police and troops were on guard on the streets of the capital with barbed wire barricades, blocking all roads leading to the presidential palace.
Opposition activists held dozens of protests elsewhere across the city, deputy commissioner of Dhaka police Abu Nasir Khalid said.
All main routes out of the city were blocked by opposition supporters, again crippling the nation's transport network.
A spokesman for Bangladesh's biggest bus operator said no service was available between the capital and other main cities for three days.
Police also fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Sunday and Monday after being pelted with small bombs, rocks and stones. Dozens of people, including some police officers, were injured, many of them seriously.
In Chittagong, home to the impoverished country's largest port, a record 21,000 containers were waiting to be processed, due to the suspension of operations, terminal manager Moshiur Rahman told AFP.
"The port authorities have agreed to give an army escort to anyone interested in taking delivery of their cargoes, but so far none has taken any delivery," he added.
At least 66 cargo vessels were stranded at the port, unable to unload or take on new cargo, he said.
The parties are demanding the postponement of January 22 elections, alleging that they cannot be fair without massive changes to the voter list.
They have staged dozens of protest strikes and blockades over the past year to press their case, repeatedly bringing the country to a standstill and causing massive losses to businesses.
The opposition alliance accuses the outgoing Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of seeking to rig the elections by appointing biased officials to an election commission, which drew up a list containing 14 million fake voters.
Meanwhile, the United States called on authorities in Bangladesh to guarantee the fairness of the elections.
Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns spoke to the head of Bangladesh's caretaker government to urge the creation of "conditions that would allow for free, fair and transparent election(s)", spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington Monday.
"I'm not sure to this point that we have seen them take those actions, and we would encourage them to do so," McCormack told reporters.
At least 35 people have died in pre-poll violence since late October. - AFP /dt
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