Bangladesh TV: Dozens of bodies found after mutiny

Videos
Photos

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-02-27 20:09

The mutinous guards had agreed to surrender after the government promised Wednesday to give them amnesty and look into their demands.

Soldiers on armoured personnel carriers move towards the Bangladesh Rifles headquarters in Dhaka on February 27, two days after a fierce gun battle broke out inside the HQ as soldiers mutinied against their officers. [Agencies]

But as the process stalled and the revolt appeared to be spreading to other areas Thursday, recently elected Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina warned the rebels she would "do whatever is needed to end the violence."

Hours later, tanks and armored vehicles with heavy machine guns rolled into the capital, taking up positions in residential neighborhoods around the border guards' compound.

The guards then hoisted a white flag Thursday afternoon and resumed laying down their arms.

The insurrection was the result of longtime frustrations over pay for the border guards that didn't keep pace with that of the army's, highlighted by rising food prices in the chronically poor South Asian country as the global economic crisis grows. The guards make about $100 a month.

Their resentment has been heightened by the practice of appointing army officers to head the border guards. The border guards also do not participate in U.N. peacekeeping missions, which bring additional pay.

The army plays a pivotal role in Bangladesh, and only recently allowed the country of 150 million return to civilian rule.

There have been 19 failed coup attempts since the country gained independence from Pakistan in 1971, and two presidents have been killed in military takeovers.

Previous page 1 2 Next Page