Violence erupts at Bangladesh youth rally, media report four killed


Soldiers sit atop an APC after armed forces were deployed, following a clash during a National Citizen Party rally, in Gopalganj, Bangladesh, July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Anik Rahman

DHAKA (Reuters) -Violence erupted on Wednesday at a rally of Bangladesh's youth-led National Citizen Party in the southern town of Gopalganj, with four people killed and more injured according to local media.

Deadly student-led protests forced long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to India in August last year, and since then there have been delays over promised reforms, growing protests and political division.

Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, who took over as interim head, said in a post on X that members of the NCP, police and media were attacked during a peaceful rally on Wednesday, with cars vandalised and individuals assaulted.

"Preventing young citizens from peacefully holding a rally to commemorate the one-year anniversary of their revolutionary movement is a shameful violation of their fundamental rights," he said, blaming Hasina's political party the Awami League and its student group for Wednesday's violence.

BBC News Bangla reported that four people were killed while the local daily Prothom Alo said nine were injured.

Police and hospital officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Authorities imposed a curfew.

The Awami League said on Facebook that one of its members had been killed by army gunfire.

(Reporting by Reuters Dhaka bureau; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Next In World

Pentagon weighs diverting Ukraine military aid to the Middle East, Washington Post reports
Former Taipei mayor sentenced to 17 years in corruption case
Address root causes of Middle East conflict, Malaysia says at UNHCR meet
Area near one of Russia's biggest oil refineries damaged by Ukrainian drones, official says
Bus falls into river while boarding ferry in Bangladesh, leaving 24 dead
Analysis-Maduro case to test US narcoterrorism law with limited trial success
Panel wants prosecution of ousted Nepal PM over violence in Gen Z protests
Indonesia military officer steps down following acid attack on activist
Tehran rejects US claims of ‘ongoing, productive’ negotiations
Russian attacks kill two in Ukraine's Kharkiv, damage infrastructure on the Danube

Others Also Read