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Zia ‘free to leave’ office but blockade continues

BANGLADESH ended the confinement of opposition leader Khaleda Zia today.

Ms Zia had been restricted to her office for the last 16 days to prevent her leading protests aimed at toppling Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Police outside Ms Zia’s office in Dhaka’s upmarket Gulshan district stood down today and police vans and water cannon parked outside were removed.

“We withdrew the security from her office after midnight,” local police said, adding that the former prime minister was now free to leave.

The siege of her office sparked political unrest around the country that left 27 people dead and hundreds injured.

Her Bangladesh Nationalist Party vowed to continue the blockade she called during her confinement.

The blockade has seen activists firebomb buses, cars and lorries across the country, while police retaliated with bullets and tear gas.

Transport operators estimate they are losing $26 million (£17.4m) a day while millions of dollars of crops rot in the fields.

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