Soldiers move to quell poll protests in Bangladeshi cities

Jan 9, 2007, 14:07 GMT

Dhaka - Regular soldiers from mechanized army units moved into cities and towns across Bangladesh Tuesday to help quell anti- government protests over the upcoming controversial general election, officials said.

The army was given special powers to arrest any person trying to foil the January 22 parliamentary polls, said Chief Election Commissioner Mahfuzur Rahman.

On Tuesday, renewed street clashes between opposition activists and security forces left over a 100 injured in the capital Dhaka.

Violence flared up in the old business quarters of the capital city and the slum district of Keraniganj on the southern outskirts of Dhaka according to senior police official Bazlur Rahman.

The deployment of the army at strategic locations in the embattled capital city followed three days of a blockade of Dhaka enforced by a united opposition led by the Awami League.

Over 600 people were injured in street violence since Sunday.

The blockade was imposed by the opposition alliance to force the caretaker government of President Iajuddin Ahmed to scrap the January 22 general election and announce fresh dates for the vote.

The opposition also threatened to boycott the elections if the voters' list was not updated before the polls.