Senior Bangladeshi opposition leader Hossain's motorcade attacked in Mirpur

A senior Bangladesh opposition leader's motorcade was attacked Friday after he visited a mausoleum in Mirpur to pay tributes to intellectuals killed in the 1971 independence war with Pakistan.

Jatiya Oikyafront leader Kamal Hossain's motorcade came under attack near the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial as he and other alliance leaders were getting in their cars, said Latiful Bari Hamim, a staff of the Oikyafront's media wing.

The Jatiya Oikyafront is an alliance of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Hossain-led Jatiya Oikya Prokriya, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, and Nagorik Oikya.

The Oikyafront was formed on October 13 with the demand of holding a national election under a neutral government after dissolution of parliament and release of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia from jail.

At least 12 leaders and activists from the Oikya Front have been injured in the attack and about seven cars were vandalised, bdnews24.com reported.

However, Hossain was unhurt in the attack.

"We are here to pay tribute to the martyred intellectuals. We must uphold our independence and make it meaningful for everyone, as millions of martyrs have sacrificed their lives for it," Hossain said.

"We're working to create a beautiful society free of repression. We'll free the country from the clutches of those who work against our dreams. They will have to give in to our countrymen, no matter how powerful they are," he said.

The opposition said such attacks were designed to weaken them ahead of the poll on December 30.

The war in 1971 broke after the sudden crackdown at midnight past on March 25, 1971 in erstwhile East Pakistan by the Pakistani troops and ended on December 16.

The same year Pakistan conceded defeat and unconditionally surrendered in Dhaka to the allied forces comprising the freedom fighters and the Indian soldiers.