At least 40 people have been injured as clashes spread between protesting students, Chhatra League activists and police in Chattogram city.

The unrest began around 10 AM when protesters gathered at New Market and around 11:30 AM spread to nearby areas when police fired  rubber bullets, tear gas, and sound grenades at the students.

The clashes started following announcements of counter-rallies by students and government supporters in Chattogram. 

The violence quickly spread to Kadamtali, Tiger Pass, Kotwali, Laldighi, Jubilee Road, SS Khaled Road, and Kazi Deuri.

Witnesses said that leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliates opened fire on protesters at New Market intersection aroudn 2 PM, leaving at least 40 injured. 

Among the injured, 23 people have been admitted to Chattogram Medical College Hospital. 

Brigadier General Mohammad Taslim Uddin, the director of Chattogram Medical College Hospital, confirmed that 23 people have been admitted by 2 PM, mostly with pellet gun injuries.

Chhatra League members started firing from the City College area, causing the protesters to disperse. As the protesters regrouped near New Market and Reazuddin Bazaar, police reportedly fired rubber bullets, tear gas, and sound grenades at them.

Videos circulating on Facebook show a helmeted man firing shots from behind the Narcotics Control Office on City College Road, while another person is seen throwing a cocktail. 

The clashes then spread several kilometers to surrounding areas.

Earlier, heavily armed members of the Awami League and Jubo League forcibly entered and vandalized the Metropolitan BNP office on Noor Ahmed Road, said witnesses.

They hurled bricks, exploded cocktails, and set fire to banners on the BNP office premises.

Later, Jubo League and Chhatra League members marched to Kazi Deuri and attacked the protesting students, injuring several, including women.

In a statement earlier today, Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) Commissioner Mohammad Saiful Islam said that barricades would be placed between the two groups to prevent further violence. About 2,000 police officers have been deployed across the city.

Additionally, several thousand students from the Qawmi-oriented Patiya Madrasa blocked the Chattogram-Cox's Bazar highway from 9 AM, suspending traffic, said Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Rashedul Islam.