VIDEO: Watch: Bangladeshi opposition stage huge protest in capital Dhaka

Tens of thousands of supporters of Bangladesh’s main opposition party descended on Dhaka on Saturday to protest against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government and demand new elections.

Tensions were high in the capital after security forces stormed the headquarters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Tuesday, killing at least one person and injuring dozens.

Two of the party’s top leaders were arrested on Friday for incitement to violence, adding to some 2,000 activists and supporters the party said had been detained since November 30 in an attempt to prevent the rally from taking place.

The opposition staged nationwide protests demanding Hasina step down and call elections under a caretaker government, which it flatly rejected.

A BNP official said around 200,000 people had joined Saturday’s rally by mid-morning.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Faruq Ahmed dismissed the figures, saying the venue could not accommodate more than 30,000 people.