Journalist killed in political party clash in Bangladesh

Abdul Hakim Shimul was reporting on clashes between two factions of the ruling Awami League activists

DHAKA: A Bangladeshi journalist was killed while covering clashes between two factions of the ruling Awami League party in a northern district, police officials said Friday.

Abdul Hakim Shimul, a correspondent in Sirajganj in northern Bangladesh for Bangla daily Samakal, was reporting on clashes between two factions of the ruling Awami League activists on Thursday, a local police inspector said.

"One group suddenly opened fire on the other when Shimul was shot," the official told AFP on the condition of anonymity, adding that the journalist was hit in the head and chest.



Shimul was first taken to a local clinic but was later rushed to Dhaka for better treatment, district police superintendent Mirazuddin Ahmed said.

"He succumbed on the way to Dhaka as his condition worsened," Ahmed told AFP. "We are looking for the culprits."