DHAKA: Huge crowds swarmed the streets of Bangladeshi cities Wednesday to demand Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation and fresh elections, with public anger mounting over rising food and fuel costs. Opposition allies staged rallies in Dhaka and nine other cities — the latest of several demonstrations in recent months that have occasionally been quelled by violence.

Bangladesh is one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia, but rising global food and fuel costs linked to the war in Ukraine forced Hasina’s government last year to impose lengthy power cuts and expand food handouts to the poor. Several people were injured in the central city of Faridpur when supporters of the ruling Awami League attacked protesters while brandishing sticks and hurling Molotov cocktails.