Nearly 400 Awami members killed since July: Party

Awami League, Bangladesh's oldest political party, has claimed that around 400 of its leaders and activists have been killed since July this year by Islamist outfits and Jamaat-e-Islami cadres.

In most cases, Awami members were hacked to death, a trademark style adopted by Jamaat-e-Islami in attacking opposition across Bangladesh, according to people in the know. Jamaat's student wing Chhatra Shibir is known for such killings.

Awami League recently published a list of 394 of its functionaries killed since July. The party said this was the initial list and details of more killings would be released in the coming days, according to people familiar with the issue.


Since August 5, when Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government fell, the party's leaders, cadres and their families have been systematically targeted across Bangladesh and in several instances their properties have been demolished and damaged. Mob beating and lynching were also common across Bangladesh between September and October, with allegedly no action initiated to control perpetrators.

Awami student wing Chhatra League has been branded as a terror outfit and many of its members have been sent to jail. Sources from Bangladesh, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the killing spree targeting Awami League has continued.

A day after Sheikh Hasina left Bangladesh along with her sister, as many as 29 party members and their families were killed.