US watching Bangladesh situation closely

The United States said on Monday that they were watching Bangladesh situation closely following the recent incidents of killing in Bangladesh.
The US government called upon the government of Bangladesh to provide a more secure environment to all of its citizens, US department of state’s spokesperson John Kirby said at a daily briefing in Washington.
‘Our focus remained on urging the government of Bangladesh to provide a more secure environment for all of its citizens, one that nurtures the spirit of the people of Bangladesh and the pride with which they guard their own traditions of tolerance, peace, and diversity,’ he said.
He said that they had raised concerns over recent problems in Bangladesh.
‘I don’t have more specific initiatives to lay before you, but I can tell you we’re watching this very closely and we are in touch,’ Kirby replied to a question on Bangladesh.
Earlier on April 29, US secretary of state John Kerry urged Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina over phone to ensure a thorough investigation into the killings of Xulhaz Mannan, one of the editors of LGBT magazine Roopban, also former official at the US embassy in Dhaka, and his theatre activist friend Khandaker Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy.
Kerry also offered US support for the ongoing investigation into recent attacks.
Xulhaz and Mahbub were hacked to death by assailants at Xulhaz’s apartment at Kalabagan in Dhaka on April 25.
The United States on Saturday described Bangladesh situation as ‘very complex’ and said there was a threat on the ground (in Bangladesh) from Middle-East-based Islamist militant outfit Islamic States.
The US authorities also requested the Bangladesh government to redouble law enforcement efforts to prevent future attacks and protect those who were at risk.
Militant outfit Ansar al-Islam Bangladesh, al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, claimed responsibility for the double murders in Dhaka.
In the latest incident of such attack, assailants hacked to death a tailor dragging him out of his tailoring shop near his house in Tangail on Saturday.
Middle-East-based militant group Islamic State claimed the responsibility for the killing of the 50-year-old tailor, Nikhil Chandra Joarder saying ‘he blasphemed Muhammad.’
About a dozen people including bloggers, writers, religious minorities and a university teacher were hacked to death in similar style in recent time in the country and either Islamic State or al-Qaeda had claimed the responsibilities for the killings.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net