DHAKA (BBC)-Police in Bangladesh say they have arrested nearly 60,000 people in a drive to improve law and order in the run-up to general elections in October.Authorities say those arrested are known criminals and troublemakers, many of whom are involved in extortion and political violence.
Police say they also recovered a large amount of weapons and explosives in the operation, which was ordered in July by the caretaker government of Latifur Rahman.
Officials say the number of arrests means they are now having to deal with the problem of overcrowded prisons.
The action has been widely welcomed, but the Awami League party of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed says many of those targeted are its leaders and activists.
Clampdown continues
The government said the security situation was "under control" in Bangladesh, apart from the south-eastern district, where police and troops are continuing to search for armed political workers.
But Shaha Kibria, the Awami League's election co-ordinator, said the activity in Feni was "not a good sign" for free and fair elections.
Mr Rahman, who took over from Sheikh Hasina on 15 July, has called elections for 1 October, making it clear law and order are his priorities.
A BBC regional analyst says the mass arrests have not stopped the violence between supporters of the Awami League and its rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
About 50 people have been killed in clashes between the two groups since mid-July.
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Bangladesh is one of world's most densely populated and least developed countries, with its people crammed into a delta of rivers that empties into the Bay of Bengal. Efforts to improve the standard of living are hampered by political instability, corruption, cyclones and floods. (BBC, country profiles)