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Roundup: Acts of Terrorism Increase in Bangladesh
As the present government is about to hand over power on July 13 to a caretaker government for holding the next general election, the acts of terrorism in the country are increasing sharply in the past few months.
In the latest clash on Saturday night, at least seven people were killed and over 100 injured in a gun fight between police and a group of terrorists in Bangladesh's southern Munshiganj district, 25 kilometers south of Dhaka.
The terrorists attacked a union chairman Ayub Ali, the lowest tier of local government, but he survived the attack. The terrorists killed his nephew.
Police getting information rushed to the scene and asked the terrorists to surrender. But the terrorists instead opened fire on the police, triggering a gun fight which lasted over an hour.
Seven people, including five terrorists were killed and eight members of the police were injured in the gunfight.
The injured police have been admitted to Munshiganj Hospital for treatment.
On the same day, at least 25 people were injured, 10 of them seriously, in a clash between two rival groups in the western Rajshahi district.
Terming small arms as a threat to security of the people, a non- government organization Saturday stressed the need for checking illegal trade of firearms and light weapons as a top priority of the government.
"Small arms culture has caused corruption of politicians, civil bureaucracy and law enforcing agency," said Syed Nurul Alam, chairperson of the National Small Arms Forum at a press conference here.
Quoting a study report of an army officer who also served as director of a government research institute, Alam estimated 80 organized crime syndicates in the country, 28 of which are active in the capital.
An estimated 200,000 small arms exist in Bangladesh and at least 50,000 are in the hands of organized criminals and their godfathers, it said.
The report also said possession of small arms by organized criminals claims death of four persons and injuries to 10 every day.
It said Bangladesh is experiencing probably the worst impact of illegal trade and use of small arms, as it is evident from sharp increase of violence in the country.
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