Dhaka, Mar 24: Bangladesh has advised foreign diplomats to take precautions and inform authorities when leaving their compounds following protests against the US-led war on Iraq, a government official said today. Diplomats should avoid crowded places and ask for police escort before leaving their embassy or residential grounds, the foreign ministry said in letters to foreign missions yesterday. Thousands of anti-war protesters have held daily rallies in the capital Dhaka since coalition forces invaded Iraq, burning American and British flags and shouting slogans against US President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. There have been no reports of violence, but more protests have been planned this week and authorities are preparing for possible attacks.
Extra police and paramilitary troops have been deployed in the Gulshan district of Dhaka, where American, British, Australian and other foreign missions are located. Armed guards are also manning eight barbed-wire posts the city's diplomatic zone, checking vehicles and pedestrians.
Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim nation, opposes the war and wants a peaceful resolution of the Iraq crisis.
“Bangladesh stands against any war,'' said the country's Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan, today. ``We want an immediate, peaceful solution to the problem through the United Nations.''
Bureau Report