Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Border guard mutiny in Bangladesh

. Wednesday, February 25, 2009

One person has been killed and at least six others wounded in an ongoing mutiny at a border guards HQ in Dhaka, Bangladesh, reports say.


Negotiators have entered the barracks complex, but it is still not clear what the soldiers' demands are.

Heavy fighting started at 0330 GMT and is still going on. An army helicopter patrolling above the barracks was fired at, and mortar rounds were also fired.

It comes a day after PM Sheikh Hasina visited the HQ to hand out medals.


She is featured in photographs on the front page of some local newspapers, saluting the border guards.

It not clear what triggered the violence, but it seemed to start after the men met their commanding officers to discuss pay and conditions, says the BBC's Mark Dummett at the scene in Dhaka.

There has been no indication that this is a coup, our correspondent adds.

Smoke plume

There is a heavy army and police presence at the scene, in the centre of the capital. The streets have been cleared and shops have been closed.

One soldier was heard addressing the mutineers by megaphone: "Brothers, let's stay together. The army is trying to come in, and we will stop them by any means."

A large plume of smoke can be seen rising above a conference room inside the barracks in the Pilkhana area of Dhaka, our correspondent says.

Local media reports say that the mutineers have locked up their officers there.

Asifur Rahman was on his way home from university when he got caught up in the violence.

"It was pretty bad and everyone was running, trying to get away," he told the BBC.

"One little boy of about eight was shot but he wasn't badly hurt," he said.

Officials at Dhaka's Medical College Hospital said one civilian had been killed. At least six people have also been wounded, although it is not clear whether any of them are soldiers.

There were reports that troops also stormed out of the complex and seized the nearby shopping centre.

The government is said to have urged the mutineers to lay down their arms.

A government source told the BBC that a curfew would be announced later.

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