DHAKA, Bangladesh - Around 14,000 police officers have been deployed across Bangladesh's capital to prevent violence during a nationwide dawn-to-dusk strike.

Thursday's strike was called by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies to protest a recent hike in fuel prices.

Private television stations ATN News and Somoy TV are reporting that the strike has shut down schools and shops in the capital, Dhaka, and that most traffic is off the streets.

No violence has been reported so far.

On Sunday, the government raised all fuel prices by up to 19 per cent. The opposition says the hike is unacceptable because it will increase the cost of living.

Strikes are a common opposition tactic to highlight demands in Bangladesh, an impoverished South Asian nation.