Separate clashes between rival political activists and police left one man dead and about 65 people injured, as a major political alliance in Bangladesh staged a nationwide transport blockade on Sunday to force electoral reforms, police and news reports said. The clashes between supporters of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, the chief of a 14-party political alliance, occurred in northeastern district of Sylhet, a police official said by telephone from the district. One unidentified man was killed and about 50 others were injured in the clashes in Sylhet, 192 kilometers (120 miles) northeast of the capital, Dhaka, said the official on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media. Separately, at least 15 people suffered injuries after police clashed with Hasina's supporters in Shariatpur district, 56 kilometers (35 miles) west of the capital, Dhaka, the United News of Bangladesh agency reported. Police used batons to disperse the activists during the clash in Shariatpur, and the protesters later damaged a local election office, the agency reported. Meanwhile, more than 20,000 protesters poured into Bangladesh's capital Sunday and were met by roughly equally large numbers of security officials, witnesses and a news report said.
