Bangladesh army to quit campus after violence

DHAKA (AFP) - Bangladesh's military-backed emergency government has agreed to pull army personnel out of Dhaka University after violent clashes with students demanding they leave, reports said Wednesday.

The withdrawal was expected to be completed late Wednesday, the private UNB news agency said quoting an official statement.

Thousands of Dhaka University students battled police using tear gas for a second day on Tuesday. Vehicles were set ablaze as students staged marches in defiance of the state of emergency.

Police also clashed with around 1,000 students from another university in the capital who threw stones at police and set tyres alight, a police official said, adding that officers retaliated with tear gas.

The army has had a small presence on the Dhaka University campus since the emergency was imposed on January 12.

Protests and street demonstrations have been illegal since the army-backed interim government took power in January after months of violent protests over vote-rigging allegations.

There were also reports of protest demonstrations at several other universities including southeastern Chittagong and northwestern Rajshahi.