Head of state takes over interim administration but fails to end political crisis. Opposition parties oppose his appointment. Violent clashes continue in the country; 24 die in three days.

Dhaka (AsiaNews) – Iajuddin Ahmed Iajuddin Ahmed was sworn in yesterday as the head of Bangladesh's interim government after the main political parties failed to agree on a candidate.

He is charged with leading the country till next January's elections. But his task won't be easy.

The opposition Awami League (AL), a 14-party coalition, continues to blockade roads and railway line in and out of Dhaka, which has been invaded by demonstrators.

The opposition had been demanding a say in choosing the chief adviser, and neither accepted nor rejected the new caretaker chief.

The president took on the prime minister's job after ex-Chief Justice KM Hasan, whose name was put forward by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), pulled out at the last minute.

For the opposition both Ahmed and Hasan are too close to the BNP to guarantee transparent and neutral elections.

Overnight last Friday, when Ahmed was scheduled to be sworn in, clashes broke out between supporters of the Awami League and the BNP causing at least 24 deaths around the country.

Yesterday, after Ahmed's swearing in was announced thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Dhaka.

Under Bangladeshi law, in the 90 days prior to an election a caretaker government replaces the outgoing administration to organise the elections.

Analysts believe that political tensions are heightened by the rivalry between the leaders of the two camps, the Awami League's Sheikh Hasina, and the BNP'S Khaleda Zia.

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