The death toll from weeks of political violence in Bangladesh yesterday passed 100, when police found four bullet-riddled bodies in the capital, Dhaka.
Police said the four men were lynched after they were found carrying firebombs, frequently used in opposition protests.
Their deaths brought the number of people killed during the latest period of unrest to 102.
Scores of activists have been shot dead since opposition leader and former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia early last month called a transport blockade in an attempt to force new elections, plunging the country into chaos.
Hundreds of vehicles have been firebombed in attacks which the government blames on opposition activists.
The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) denies this, instead blaming ruling party activists and government agents.
Police said one of the bodies discovered yesterday was that of BNP union official Abdul Wadud.
The other three had not been identified, Dhaka district police inspector Masud Parvez said.
“Their bodies bore signs of beatings and were riddled with bullet marks,” he told reporters.
Most of the dead have been killed by firebombings of vehicles by anti-government protesters trying to enforce the blockade.
However, security forces have also been accused of shooting dead dozens of anti-government activists to try to suppress the protests.
Most died in shootouts with security forces or were lynched or crushed under lorries as they tried to attack buses and other vehicles, police said.
BNP leader Zia called the protests to try to topple Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Zia leads a 20-party opposition alliance which boycotted last year’s general election on the grounds it would be rigged. She has been confined to her office since threatening early last month to lead a mass rally against the government.
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