Two killed in Bangladesh protests

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DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) -- Bangladesh faced a third day of paralysis on Tuesday as political parties seeking the ouster of controversial election officials vowed to press on with a transport blockade until their demands were met.

Two men were killed and over 100 injured in clashes with police over the previous two days as the political crisis gathered momentum ahead of January's elections.

The protesters, mainly members of a 14-party alliance led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, are demanding the removal of the chief election commissioner and his deputies.

The alliance says the election officials are sympathetic towards the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of Begum Khaleda Zia, who ended her five-year term as prime minister last month.

The alliance parties took their stand after a meeting late on Monday with advisers of the pre-election interim government.

"We have told them we cannot leave the roads or let the transport move again until they fulfil our conditions," said Abdul Jalil, general secretary of Hasina's Awami League.

Reporters said hundreds of alliance supporters gathered in Dhaka and other major cities early on Tuesday, blocking links between the capital and the rest of the country.

"Never before have we seen such a crippling situation," said Mohammad Rouf, a businessman stranded in the capital since the blockade began on Sunday.

Police said fears of violence rose after the BNP announced plans on Monday to "take to the streets and face off those trying to jeopardize democracy and economy".

The government has said it would deploy the army, if needed, to keep order.

President Iajuddin Ahmed, who heads the interim government, has made no public comment on the demand to remove Chief Election Commissioner M.A. Aziz, although Aziz himself has said he will not resign.

The BNP and its ally Jamaat-e-Islami party have asked Aziz not to quit under pressure.

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