Bangladesh: Dozens injured as two groups clash during sit-in protest for July Charter

Dhaka, Aug 2 Several people were injured when violent clashes erupted in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, after a group claiming to be "real July Warriors" attacked the protestors staging a sit-in demanding implementation of the July Charter, local media reported.

The incident occurred late on Friday evening when a crowd of students and locals confronted the protestors and broke through the barricades, accusing them of being impostors.

Subsequently, the police resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse both groups from the road.

According to Inspector Md Farouk, in charge of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) police outpost, at least five of them were given primary treatment at DMCH, and two others are in critical condition and undergoing treatment.

The sit-in began on Thursday morning with protesters raising slogans against the delay in announcing the July Charter, as they called on the National Consensus Commission (NCC) of Bangladesh to finalise it as soon as possible.

The protestors blocked the road for over 32 hours, triggering massive traffic snarls and causing inconvenience to residents in the area and surrounding parts.

"A group identifying as 'July warriors' had been occupying Shahbagh intersection since yesterday (Thursday) morning. Despite repeated attempts to persuade them, they refused to leave. This evening, another group, also calling themselves 'July Warriors', arrived at Shahbagh, which led to fighting and chaos between the two sides," Bangladesh's leading daily Prothom Alo quoted Masud Alam, deputy commissioner of police (Ramna Division) as saying.

The demonstrators who blockaded Shahbagh during the protest claimed that police used batons against them after they were attacked by a rival group.

"Police beat me on my back. A group came from PG Hospital (BMU) and attacked us. They tore down our stage. While some of them may have been injured during the uprising, most were outsiders who didn't want our movement to succeed," said Md Yasin, one of the protesters.

"Both the police and the other group attacked us. Two of our members have been admitted to the hospital, and several others were injured. We are now gathering at the Raju Memorial Sculpture. Our next course of action will be announced later," said Masud Rana Shourav, chief organiser of the group demonstrating for the July Charter.

Meanwhile, the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has finalised the draft of the July Charter, which will be presented on the evening of August 5, the Chief Advisor's Press Wing said in a press release on Saturday.

According to the statement, it will be presented before the nation in the presence of all parties involved in last year's July demonstrations.

Reports suggest that as major differences emerged among key political parties in Bangladesh, the National Consensus Commission (NCC) of the country struggled to reach an agreement on several reform proposals during the second round of the dialogue.

Recently, several political parties of Bangladesh, including Jamaat, NCP, and Islami Andolon, raised objections to the draft of the July Charter.

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