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Siege turns violent

Haroon Habib

Hundreds injured in battles near President's Palace

— PHOTO: AP

STIRRING ACTION: Riot policemen lathicharge activists as they try to overrun a police barricade at the presidential palace in Dhaka on Tuesday.

DHAKA: Violence rocked Dhaka on Tuesday as thousands of political activists laid siege to the Bangladesh President's Palace, to press their demand for re-scheduling the January 22 elections and resignation of President Iajuddin Ahmed as Chief Advisor to the caretaker Government.

Police resorted to repeated baton-charges to disperse the protesters who surrounded Bangabhaban on the final day of the grand alliance's three-day nationwide blockade. The police did not spare even senior leaders of the Awami League-led alliance and women activists. Earlier in the day, defying a police ban, thousands of protesters encircled the heavily guarded Bangabhaban in the morning and engaged in a pitched battle with police and paramilitary personnel, turning Dhaka into a virtual battlefield.

The protesters, many of whom were seen bleeding profusely, threw stones and bricks, injuring many security personnel.

The grand alliance said more than 200 of their leaders and workers were arrested by the police. The President's determination to go ahead with the one-sided election has drawn criticism also in the international arena.

The United States, Britain and the European Union have told the Government that a "one-sided election" will not be acceptable. The E.U. said a one-sided election will not be acceptable.

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