DHAKA, Sept 26: Bangladesh's opposition Awami League said on Sunday that more than 4,000 of its supporters had been arrested in recent days in a crackdown by authorities ahead of a slew of nation wide protest rallies planned by the party early next month.

However, local newspapers quoted the government as saying the arrests were part of a drive to deter crime. Bangladeshi state minister for home affairs Lutfozza man Babar said the arrests were "to clamp down on criminals," according to a leading English-language daily New Age.

The Awami League maintained the arrests were part of a government campaign to intimidate its supporters. "The government has arrested more than 4,000 of our supporters from all over the country during the last two days to endanger our mass rallies on October 3," Awami League General Secretary Abdul Jalil told reporters.

The party has said it plans to hold nation wide rallies on October 3 as part of ongoing protests against a grenade attack on an Awami League rally last month that killed 21 people and slightly injured party leader Sheikh Hasina Wajed.

Awami League has been waging a concerted campaign to oust the coalition government, holding frequent strikes and demonstrations. It accuses the government, which holds an overwhelming parliamentary majority, of failing to tackle crime and corruption.

The government, led by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, has said it is working hard to clean up a grim law-and-order situation inherited from the previous Awami League administration. -AFP