More than 100 alleged drug dealers have been killed and thousands detained in Bangladesh in the past fortnight in a Philippines-style narcotics crackdown that has raised concerns about extrajudicial killings. Police said ten more alleged traffickers were gunned down in the early hours of Tuesday, some in shootouts with police and others in so-called gang wars between dealers.
A total of 102 suspected traffickers have been killed since Bangladesh launched an aggressive war on drugs in mid-May to smash the surging trade in yaba, a cheap pill combining methamphetamine and caffeine. "We are saying that this war will continue until we bring it under complete control," Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told AFP.
Around 12,000 accused dealers have been arrested and tried in special courts since the crackdown began on May 15, with many handed jail sentences of seven days to six months, he added. Khan said there was "no question" that those killed were drug dealers, despite allegations by rights groups that innocent people had died.
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