Thousands march in Dhaka protest

The opposition says that more protests are planned

Thousands of opposition supporters in Bangladesh have marched through Dhaka at the beginning of a six-day campaign demanding electoral reforms.

A police spokesman said more than 4,000 riot police and paramilitary troops were deployed in the city and many people were arrested.

On Monday, opposition political parties said police had arrested more than 1,000 of their supporters.

The 14-party opposition want electoral reforms before elections in January.

The BBC's Waliur Rahman in Dhaka says that the march went peacefully, although there had been a warning from the authorities that it could be the target of terrorist attack.

Thousands of police and members of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) guarded the route of the march.

The opposition alliance plans to organise similar marches in Dhaka and other cities and towns until Sunday.

The Bangladeshi Home Minister, Lutfozzaman Babor, said the police on Monday arrested no-one without valid reason.