STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Political violence in Bangladesh reached a four-year high during the first 13 months of the interim government, with at least 1,047 incidents leaving 160 people dead and more than 8,000 injured, according to data from the Human Rights Support Society (HRSS).

Most of those killed were affiliated with the BNP, followed by the Awami League, with the majority of deaths occurring in intra-party clashes, alongside confrontations between BNP and AL supporters. Of the 160 people killed, 104 were from BNP and 38 from AL.

HRSS compiled its annual data from 15 national newspapers and its own field reports. The latest report covers the first 13 months of the interim government.

Intra-BNP clashes saw the highest fatalities, with 577 such incidents leaving 88 dead. A total of 221 BNP-AL confrontations claimed 34 lives. Of the 38 AL men killed, 12 died in intra-party violence, while most of the rest were killed during clashes with BNP men.

Meanwhile, three Jamaat-e-Islami activists, one from NCP, and ten from the UPDF were also killed, while four others, including one woman, had no identifiable political affiliation.

According to HRSS, the Jamaat activists were killed in clashes with BNP and AL supporters, while the NCP member died in an Awami League–NCP confrontation. The report did not specify how 10 UPDF activists were killed.

Meanwhile, the rights watchdog also recorded at least 171 incidents of attacks by miscreants on political party leaders and activists, resulting in at least 120 other deaths and over 200 injuries.

HRSS data show that 82 people were killed in 2021, 92 in 2022, 96 in 2023, and 160 between

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