At least one person has been killed and scores injured and detained by police as a protest organized by Bangladesh’s largest Islamic party turned violent, with police reportedly using live ammunition against the rioters.

­The strike was organized by Jamaat e Islami in protest against the trials of the organization's leaders, who are charged with war crimes allegedly committed during the country’s 1971 liberation war. During the nationwide protests, rioters have set some 20 cars on fire, including one at the US Embassy in Dhaka. Police used live ammunition, tear gas and rubber bullets to quell the angry crowd across the nation, as violence was also reported in the cities of Sylhet, Rajshahi and Narayanganj. Sixty-nine people have been arrested, according to police, while an 18-year-old was shot dead in clashes in the town of Chirirbandar, 300 kilometers from the capital. Hospital officials confirmed that the death was caused by live ammunition used by the law enforcement. The government of Bangladesh holds Jamaat responsible for much of the bloodshed caused during a nine-month war against Pakistan, in which an estimated three million people were killed.



Police load injured activists of Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami party onto a police van as they detain them after a clash with police and pro-government activists in Dhaka December 4, 2012. (Reuters / Andrew Biraj)



An injured activist of Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami party is led to a police van as he is detained after a clash with police and pro-government activists in Dhaka December 4, 2012. (Reuters / Andrew Biraj)



Members of Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion stand alert during a nationwide strike in Dhaka on December 4, 2012. (AFP Photo / Munir Uz Zaman)



Bangladeshi activists from Jamaat-e-Islami shout slogans as they march behind a banner during a nationwide strike in Dhaka on December 4, 2012. (AFP Photo / Munir Uz Zaman)



Bangladeshi police detain an activist from Jamaat-e-Islami during a nationwide strike in Dhaka on December 4, 2012. (AFP Photo / Munir Uz Zaman)