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Opposition rally amid mass arrests in Bangladesh
The rally in Dhaka called for a countrywide shutdown on February 15 in a bid to pressure the government into stepping down.
Thousands of people defied police roadblocks and threats of mass detention join a rally here on Sunday that demanded the resignation of the ruling nationalist-Islamist government.
The opposition parties that organised the rally at a football field in Bangladesh's capital city called a countrywide shutdown February 15 in a bid to pressure the government into stepping down.
Witnesses said clashes between police and protesters left at least 70 people injured in Dhaka.
Earlier, more than 6,000 people were arrested across Bangladesh following a police crackdown on opposition party activists leading a march in capital Dhaka, officials said on Sunday.
Home Affairs Under Secretary Safar Raj Hossain urged all citizens to respect the law and warned of tough action against disruptive activities.
"Security measures have been upgraded and more forces and logistical facilities arranged to contain violence," Hossain told reporters in Dhaka.
Security was beefed up in Dhaka as tens of thousands of marchers chanting anti-government slogans were closing in on the bustling capital, said Dhaka's police commissioner Mizanur Rahman.
Opposition leaders said more than a million people had joined the opposition's "long march" campaign to force the coalition government under Prime Minister Khaleda Zia to resign.
Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) dominates the coalition that also includes two Islamic parties.
The alliance of 14 opposition parties led by the Awami League accuses Zia of failing to curb Islamic militancy, control rising food prices and halt a general decline in law and order.
"After so many cases of terror attacks related to Islamic militancy remaining unresolved in the last few years, the government has no moral authority to stay in power," said Sheikh Hasina, former premier and opposition chief.
However, a government press note denied mass arrests by police, saying all steps undertaken by the security forces were in the interests of maintaining peace and protecting the life and property of law abiding citizens.
The Awami League has been abstaining from parliament for more than a year and demanding a snap general election. Polls are not due before October in Bangladesh where parliamentary democracy was restored in 1991 after more than a decade of military rule.
