Bangladesh Local Elections’ Violence Kills 10

Local Editor

At least 10 people were killed in overnight violence as Bangladesh went to the polls for local elections, seven of them were shot dead by security forces, police said Wednesday.

Much of the violence was in the southern coastal town of Mathabria, where clashes broke out when thousands of ruling party supporters attacked police and border guards taking ballot boxes to the government headquarters.

"A magistrate ordered the shooting and officers fired at thousands of unruly people who attacked us with machetes, rocks and sticks," district police chief Walid Hussein told AFP.

"Three people died on the spot and two on the way to hospital," he further noted, adding that another five people were injured in the police shooting.

Meanwhile, another police official reported that all the victims were supporters of the ruling Awami League who had apparently attacked police fearing a local loss for their party.

In parallel, security forces shot and killed two people in the southeastern coastal town of Sabrang when supporters of a rebel ruling party candidate tried to snatch ballot boxes from the paramilitary forces, local police chief Kabir Hussein told AFP.

Three more died in other parts of the country as voting began Tuesday in the elections for more than 6,000 local council across the country.

Relatively, the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party said almost all the local council polls were marred by violence, rigging and fraud including ballot-stuffing by the ruling party supporters.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team