SUMMARY

Political and electoral violence has remained commonplace in Bangladesh since its war of independence against Pakistan in the early 1970s. Tensions between two of Bangladesh's largest political parties, the Awami League and Jamaat-e-Islami (or simply Jamaat), derive from that period. The Awami League was led by the founding leader of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Prior to Bangladesh's secession from Pakistan, Rahman's party was perceived as pro-independence, friendly to India, and an ally of Bangladesh's Hindu minority. During the war of independence, many of its supporters joined the militancy which fought against the Pakistani military presence. The Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party, however, officially opposed the secession of Bangladesh from Pakistan, and many of its members supported the Pakistani military forces. Allegedly, Jamaat supporters- including several future leaders of the party- participated in war crimes and grave human rights violations during the conflict. Tensions between the Supporters of Awami League and the Supporters of Jamaati-e-Islami became especially violent in 2013, after the Government of Bangladesh established a war crimes tribunal which prosecuted several leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami.

the Supporters of Awami League and the Supporters of Jamaati-e-Islami have often clashed violently with one another in the years since Bangladesh achieved its independence. The intensity and frequency of these clashes escalated dramatically starting in early 2013. Throughout the year, the newly-established International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) convicted several Jamaat leaders of human rights violations committed during the war of independence. The ICT convictions, starting with the conviction of Abul Kalam Azad in January, triggered several large and violent political protests and dozens of clashes between supporters of various political parties. The violence culminated in over 200 deaths. Over two dozen of these deaths derived from fighting between the Supporters of Awami League and the Supporters of Jamaati-e-Islami.

The non-state conflict between the Supporters of Awami League and the Supporters of Jamaati-e-Islami is first included in UCDP data in 2013 when clashes following International Crimes Tribunal convictions triggered several large and violent political protests, resulting in more than 25 battle-related deaths.