Authorities arrested at least 26 alleged activists of the banned Awami League (AL) in Dhaka and deployed tens of thousands of security personnel across the country on Monday to prevent the party from staging rallies and processions marking its founding anniversary.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) said the arrests were made during raids in eight areas of the capital since Monday. Similar operations are underway nationwide amid intelligence reports that party supporters were attempting to organise public gatherings despite the ban.
DMP spokesperson Niaz Mehedi said around 18,000 police officers have been deployed across Dhaka under heightened security arrangements.
The army has been deployed in six districts and metropolitan areas, while Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel have been stationed in five districts as part of a coordinated security operation.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said law enforcement agencies had been instructed to maintain maximum vigilance.
“We have received information that the banned Awami League is attempting to create instability through rallies and processions in different parts of the country,” he told reporters.
Security was tightened around Dhanmondi 32, the former residence associated with Bangladesh's ousted ruling family, with steel barricades erected to restrict access.
Tensions briefly flared when activists of Jamaat-e-Islami staged a protest in the area. Scuffles broke out between demonstrators and journalists, with at least one reporter reportedly assaulted.
Authorities later sealed off the road and deployed additional police units and an armoured personnel carrier (APC).
The deployment marks a partial return of military support after troops were withdrawn nationwide on June 15, ending a 22-month domestic deployment that began in the aftermath of the July uprising.
According to the Home Ministry, armed forces have been redeployed from June 22 to June 30 in the metropolitan areas of Dhaka, Chattogram, Narayanganj and Gazipur, as well as Faridpur and Gopalganj, to prevent sabotage and maintain public order.
The Awami League was outlawed earlier this year by the current parliament. Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has since been sentenced to death over killings linked to the July uprising, while senior party leaders and hundreds of activists face charges over the deadly crackdown on protesters during the July-August 2024 unrest.
—