Bangladesh braces for violence after deadly anti-Modi protests

Protesters accuse Modi and his Hindu-nationalist government of stoking religious tensions and inciting anti-Muslim violence

Bangladesh has marked 50 years of independence with rights groups calling for an end to growing authoritarianism extrajudicial killings

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) being traditionally welcomed during his visit at the Jeshoreshwari Kali temple in Bangladesh. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:09pm, 27 Mar 2021Updated: 10:09pm, 27 Mar 2021

Bangladesh has deployed border guards to help maintain order, a senior officer said on Saturday after deadly protests by hardline Islamists against a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi rocked the Muslim-majority nation.

The violence, which began on Friday at the main mosque in the capital Dhaka, spread to several key districts in the South Asian nation of 168 million, leaving five people dead and scores injured.

Facebook has been restricted in the country, a company spokesman said after users complained they could not access the site since late on Friday afternoon as images and reports of the violence were shared in social media.

A spokesman for the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), which also acts as a reserve paramilitary force to maintain law and order, said it had deployed troops since Friday night.

“With the instructions of the home ministry and in aid of the civil administration, required number of BGB has been deployed in different districts of the country,” Lieutenant Colonel Fayzur Rahman said, without disclosing the numbers involved.