Opposition Party in Bangladesh Claims Hundreds Killed in Mass Protests, Calls For More Protests

Declined to provide any evidence for claim; AFP reports 38 people killed in street violence

Bangladeshi opposition parties have called a two-day nationwide shutdown from Wednesday to protest what they describe as the "mass killing" of Islamists in a crackdown by security forces.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its Islamist allies called the strike after claiming that hundreds of people were killed on Sunday and early Monday, when police broke up a mass rally in central Dhaka.