Associated Press

Dhaka, May 21:

Riot police used batons to break up slogan-shouting demonstrators today during a general strike, leaving dozens of people injured, witnesses said. Police picked up about 30 protesters during the clashes in the capital, Dhaka. The violence occurred when police tried to stop about 600 protesters from taking to the streets. The protesters smashed some vehicles

for defying the strike call, and threw stones at security forces. The nationwide strike

organised by the Awami League shut down schools and shops and disrupted business and public transportation in more than 60 cities and towns. The Awami League called the strike — the second such protest this week — to condemn the killing of Khorshed Alam, a leader of the party’s Dhaka chapter. Unidentified attackers gunned him down on Tuesday outside his home.

No one has claimed responsibility for the killing. Police have arrested two suspects, but have released no information about them. The opposition blames the attack on Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party — a charge the BNP denies.

Meanwhile, in Dhaka commuters relied on tricycle rickshaws and some bus services that operated in defiance of the strike. At least 5,000 security forces were patrolling the capital city, the home ministry said in a news release. Additional police were deployed across the country. Riot police erected barbed-wire barricades near the Awami League’s headquarters in downtown Dhaka in a bid to halt a rally involving about 300 protesters. The demonstrators shouted: “Down with the killer government,” and “We want justice.”