Victims in Train Fire During General Strike in Bangladesh

Protesters in Bangladesh set fire to a train on Tuesday, resulting in the deaths of four people, including a mother and her child, amid a nationwide strike called by the opposition to pressure for the government's resignation ahead of the general elections scheduled for next month. A fire service official stated, "Strike supporters set fire to three compartments of a fast train, and four bodies were recovered from one compartment." Among the victims was a 32-year-old woman and her three-year-old son. The police indicated that it is still unclear how many people were on board the train coming from the northern Netrokona area to the capital, Dhaka. This incident marks the latest outbreak of violence triggered by anti-government protests, with dozens of buses and vehicles set ablaze, resulting in at least six deaths since October 28 when an opposition demonstration turned violent. The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party is calling for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down and allow a neutral government to oversee the elections that the party is boycotting, set to take place on January 7. Hasina, who is seeking her fourth consecutive five-year term, has rejected the opposition's calls for her resignation, blaming the Bangladesh Nationalist Party for the outbreak of violent protests in the streets.