At least four people, including a child, were burned alive in northern Bangladesh when opposition activists hurled petrol bombs at a packed bus on Friday night.
The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) refused to take part in a general election just over a year ago, saying it would be rigged, and intensified protests last month in a bid to force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down and hold a new one.
More than 60 people have been killed in violence over the past month, including the four on the night bus to Dhaka.
"Four, including a child and a woman, died on the spot after opposition activists hurled petrol bombs," local police official Raziur Rahman said in the northern district of Gaibandha. At least 30 people were injured, several critically, he said.
The BNP has been blockading roads, railways and waterways and says it will continue until the government quits. It called for another 72-hour countrywide general strike from Sunday morning.
In a statement issued before news of the latest bus attack, the United States voiced grave concern over the violence and said "there is simply no justification for such actions in a democratic Bangladesh".
