Bangladesh: One killed, several injured in BNP’s factional clashes

Dhaka: Bangladesh witnessed a surge in violence as a factional clash between the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) left several injured in Chittagong district.

The conflict, which occurred on Wednesday night, involved supporters of former BNP Parliamentarian Giasuddin Quader Chowdhury and Chittagong district north BNP Convener Golam Akbar Khondokar, local media reported.

At an iftar party, tensions escalated when a group of people arrived and demanded that the event be stopped, leading to an argument. The situation led to a violent clash, leaving many injured. Locals said they heard gunshots during the clash, reports the leading Bangladeshi newspaper, The Daily Star.

“Before iftar, police dispersed both groups, but they clashed repeatedly after iftar. Our initial investigation suggests that the Golam Akbar group organised the iftar mahfil, but their rivals attempted to stop it, triggering the violence,” said the officer-in-charge of the district Police Station.

While this was happening in Chittagong, a local leader of the student wing of the party, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) in the Bhola district was critically injured.

He later died while being transported to a Dhaka hospital on Wednesday night. It is reported that several others from both sides were also injured.

Repeated factional clashes between BNP leaders have been witnessed in the last few months.

In a similar incident on Tuesday, at least eleven people were injured in a clash between two BNP factions over holding Iftar gatherings in the Sirajganj district of Bangladesh.

After the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in early August last year, infighting within the BNP intensified with different groups attempting to show their strength.

The law enforcers and party insiders of the BNP told The Daily Star that the clashes took place due to rivalries over supremacy and extortion money.

The party insiders also stated that the recent spate of internal feuds stems from the confidence that the BNP will come to power winning the next general election and opportunist groups are now desperate to grab power.

Khaleda Zia’s BNP was hand in glove with the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus to overthrow the democratically elected government of Awami League.

It emerged as the largest political party in Bangladesh after the fall of the arch-rival Sheikh Hasina. However, since then BNP had a growing fissure within itself that led to violent clashes amongst them due to which many leaders were killed and several injured.

IANS