Bangladesh marks Independence Day amid unrest

Bangladeshis have marked their Independence Day with tributes to the victims of the 1971 war which resulted in the country’s independence from Pakistan.

The country, then known as East Pakistan, won independence with India’s help following a nine-month conflict with the rest of Pakistan that claimed thousands of lives. 

The celebrations follow months of unrest over a political crisis sparked by the trial of leaders of the group Jamaat-e-Islami, who were charged with atrocities in their opposition to the country’s independence from Pakistan.