10,000 held in B'desh crackdown

DHAKA (AFP) - Police in emergency-ruled Bangladesh said Wednesday they had arrested more than 10,000 people over the past week in a major anti-crime swoop.

The country's main parties, however, accused the army-backed authorities of stepping up a political crackdown that has already seen their leaders detained.

National police chief Nur Muhammad said the operation, expected to last one month, was aimed at improving security ahead of the country's scheduled return to democracy with elections due by the end of the year.

He also rejected complaints from the Awami League of Sheikh Hasina Wajed and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party of Khaleda Zia that politicians and activists were being rounded up.

"It's part of a month-long nationwide special drive against crime. We have just become a bit more aggressive than what we usually do on a normal day," said Nur.