About 200 people, largely activists of AL and its front organisations, were injured in clashes in Dhaka, Narayanganj, Satkhira, Jessore, Sirajganj, Bogra, Magura and Kurigram and police arrested about 250 opposition activists in the wake of the violence, prompting the AL to call another dawn-to-dusk nation-wide shutdown for tomorrow.

In Dhaka, about 100 opposition adherents were injured and 188 arrested near the AL central office on Bangabandhu Avenue and in Kalabagan, Motijheel, North-South Road in old Dhaka, Badda and other places during the stoppage.

The hartal crippled life in Dhaka and elsewhere by disrupting transport, shutting down most shops, schools, banks and businesses and stock exchanges in Dhaka and Chittagong and affecting cargo handling in seaports.

Scenes of hundreds of stone-throwing pickets chasing policemen in riot gear and the law enforcers charging the opposition activists with batons dominated the capital at the height of the hartal.

Jahangir Kabir Nanok, president of AL's Jubo League youth front, was seriously injured when police beat him up indiscriminately grappling him to the ground in their brash bid to disperse a pro-hartal procession marching ahead on Mirpur Road breaking a police barricade.

Protesting at what he said was a 'barbaric police action' on Nanok, Jubo League General Secretary Mirza Azam, MP, instantly called another strike for tomorrow.

The dawn-to-dusk fresh strike call later got backing from the AL and other front organisations.

Another 10, including Jubo League Joint Secretary Faruk Hossain and woman activist Suriya Yasmin, were injured in the police action.

Of the injured, Nanok, Faruk and Suriya were admitted to a city clinic for treatment.

Pro-government activists attacked a pro-hartal demonstration with sticks near Golap Shah shrine in Gulistan.

The hartal was in protest against police action on Thursday when the AL called a hartal to drum up support for its campaign to dislodge the coalition government of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia from power and force early general elections which are otherwise not due before October 2006.

The AL claimed hundreds of its leaders and activists including former minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury were wounded in police actions during Thursday's strike.

BRASH ACTION

In the afternoon, police attacked pro-hartal demonstrators who were trying to stage an agitation near Shapla Chattar in Motijheel and picked up Abdul Matin Master, president of the Shramik League, the labour front of the AL, from the procession.

Police also dispersed processions led by AL legislator Asaduzzaman Noor and Abdul Latif Siddiqui.

Witnesses said at one stage of chase and counter-chase, police 'virtually went berserk' and charged people, including pedestrians and office-goers with baton and picked them up indiscriminately from Motijheel area.

Police also dispersed a procession of Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad there.

When pro-hartal activists tried to break a police cordon at the western end of Bangabandhu Avenue, some processionists hurled brickbats at police and snatched a baton, prompting the policemen to leap into action.

They used in a frenzy batons on opposition activists trying to enter the AL headquarters, injuring 12 activists, both men and women.

Police dragged a woman activist, Kohinoor, onto a police van, but she was later rescued by senior AL leaders.

Frontline AL leader Motia Chowdhury and city AL General Secretary Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya suffered injuries there. Police sealed off all entrances to Bangabandhu Avenue from early hours yesterday by placing barbed-wire fences.

Police armed with rubber bullets and teargas fought a running battle with a procession of stone-throwing pickets on North-South Road at about 1:20pm in which about 20 people were injured. Police held another 20 from the scene.

Dhaka city AL Organising Secretary Sayeed Khokon, who was leading the procession, said at least two pickets -- SM Ali Milton and Belayet -- were hit by rubber bullets.

Khokon, son of Dhaka city AL president and former mayor Mohammad Hanif, said police cordoned off their old town house for hours as demonstrators took shelter there after being chased by police.

Police also attacked a pro-hartal procession in Lalbagh.

Law enforcers used baton to break a procession led by central AL leaders Mahmudur Rahman Manna, Akhtaruzzaman and AKM Rahmatullah in Badda, injuring more than 20 people including Akhtaruzzaman.

At least 30 opposition activists were held from the scene.

Police placed frontline AL leaders Abdur Razzak, Mohammad Nasim, Abdul Matin Khasru and Mirza Azam, MP, under a virtual siege for several hours since 10:00am, witnesses said.

Chhatra League, student wing of the AL, brought out a procession at Dhaka University in support of the hartal.

CLASHES ACROSS COUNTRY

Our Satkhira correspondent adds: At least 10 AL leaders and activists were injured, one of them critically, when the activists of ruling alliance leader BNP attacked a pro-hartal procession in New Market during the hartal hours.

District AL leaders in a press briefing alleged that BNP activists led by Masum Billah Shahin, Kala Jahangir, Shamim, Kala Babu, Arjet and Mukul attacked the AL procession in front of police when it reached the New Market area at about 11:30am.

Police lobbed five teargas shells to disperse the attackers who also stormed district AL office and ransacked furniture and documents there.

Our staff correspondent from Chittagong adds: Chase and counter-chase between police and pickets at Sholoshahar marked the hartal in the port city. Agitators damaged two vehicles near the AL city office at Darul Fazal market and police picked up 12 opposition activists in the wake of the incidents.

Our Jessore correspondent adds: Pro-hartal activists in Jessore attacked the upazila headquarters in Abhoynagar upazila and assaulted two officials.

Police picked up 25 AL activists after the violence.

UNB adds: Twenty-three people, including BNP leaders Motiar Rahman and Maruf Hasan, were injured in a clash between the AL and BNP activists in Salanga Bazaar in Sirajganj.

Witnesses said the trouble erupted at 10:15pm when the BNP activists confronted their rivals in the opposition in processions.

In a similar clash in the area, some 12 people were injured.

About 25 people were injured, three by bullets, in separate clashes between Awami League and BNP activists in Bogra.

In Magura, 10 AL activists were injured in an attack allegedly by BNP adherents in the town.

District AL leaders alleged that armed BNP activists attacked their procession parading through the town in support of the hartal.

In Kurigram, 10 political activists were injured including district BCL President Anisur Rahman Chand when BNP and AL workers became locked in a clash.

In Narayanganj, five people were injured in a clash between the activists of AL and BNP in Sonakanda area.