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DHAKA (Reuters) - Thousands of opposition supporters held a noisy protest in the capital Dhaka on Thursday to demand the resignation of the government for failing to arrest those behind a series of bomb attacks since August. "The alliance government of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and her ally Matiur Rahman Nizami, has no right to stay in power as it failed to arrest top leaders of two banned Islamic groups, which are out to destroy democracy and independence," Awami League General Secretary Abdul Jalil told protesters. Under the watch of hundreds of riot police, opposition activists chanted "down with Khaleda, down with Nizami". Authorities blame the bombings on the outlawed Jammat-ul-Mujahideen and Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) groups, which are fighting for the introduction of Islamic sharia law in the country, a mainly Muslim democracy. Opposition parties intensified their campaign last month following the series of bomb attacks that have killed at least 30 people and wounded 150 since Aug. 17. Police have arrested some 800 suspects since August, but Shayek Abdur Rahman, and Siddikul Islam Bangla Bhai, chiefs of Jammat-ul-Mujahideen and JMJB, have evaded capture. "The government will not resign a day before completing its full five-year term and the election will be held in January 2007 as scheduled," Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, secretary-general of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), told reporters.
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