CNN News - BDR Mutiny in Bangladesh | 26-Feb-2009 (Afternoon)

A mutiny by border guards in Dhaka has spread to towns outside the Bangladeshi capital, reports say.

Heavy gunfire has also resumed at the border guards barracks in Dhaka, where the troops had begun laying down their arms after a day of violence.

Nearly 50 people are thought to have died on Wednesday as the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) staged an armed mutiny, said to be over pay and conditions.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is due to address the nation later.

What she says will have a critical impact on how this crisis is resolved, say the BBC's Mark Dummett in Dhaka.

The government had offered the paramilitary troops a general amnesty, and the prime minister has promised to look into their grievances.

Blocked road

There are reports of rank and file soldiers seizing control of their barracks and camps in at least 12 different towns and cities since early on Thursday.

The BDR has 40,000 men stationed at 42 camps across the country.
In some cases, the border guards have taken their officers hostage, and in others they have forced them to leave, reports say.

Some mutineers told the BBC that they had taken up arms over fears that regular army units had been ordered to disarm them.

There are unconfirmed reports of gunfire in the main port city of Chittagong, at Feni, on the eastern border with India, in Rajshahi in the north west, and Sylhet in the north.

A man claiming to be a BDR soldier in Chittagong said they had opened fire to prevent regular army units from entering their camp, unconfirmed reports say.

Another report said similar incidents had occurred at Cox's Bazaar and Feni.

In Khulna in the south, border guards have reportedly blocked a road, but no shooting has taken place.

The police chief in the north-eastern Moulivibazar district told the AFP news agency that the border guards were "firing indiscriminately".
"Their commanding officer told me that he has fled the camp."

There are no reports so far of any casualties in these reported incidents.

The mutineers seized the military barracks in the Pilkhana area of Dhaka on Wednesday morning, reportedly taking more than 100 people hostage.

Officials said there were unconfirmed reports that nearly 50 people died.

Speaking on Wednesday, one of the mutineers in Dhaka told the BBC that the guards had had to take up arms to resolve problems with their officers.

"Our families might suffer because of what we have done, but they have been exploiting us for more than 200 years," the man said.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• BREAKING
• NEWS
• Bangladesh
• Rifles
• BDR
• Border
• Guards
• Army
• Mutiny
• Over
• Ends
• Capital
• Dhaka
• CNN
• BBC
• 26
• February
• 2009

[losedarkhorse]

poor people to give them foot.....shala geya school e vortii ho...cant even talk!!!

[Nav666a]

@shon200310058 at least he speaks some English, you can't even write english haha!

[nadeemstine]

Fucking British bastards and their Wahhabi gay partners did it

[loveme1572]

Stupid!!! It's not border security force It's Bangladesh rifles ( BDR)

How stupid reporter he is!!!

[TheCrusader88]

Hahahah the Bengali reporter is epic fail xD

[markjartansson]

My opinion!! Iran and Nord Korea are placed for injustice with these sanctions Big protest I recommend changing in FN four more Nations as a permanent members of security council IRAN BRAZIL LYBIA SYRIEN,,,,,I´m not surprised that East Timor showed op at the last second and was chosen instead of Iran in a department within FN. An old APPROACH,,,,, mar kjartansson 24t blog Mingler.dk

[TheCrusader88]

lol nice english! Can't believe they aired this on CNN

[shon200310058]

Da bangli repotr cnt evn spk eng hoihiiihiii

[deeder2000]

I am not sure just how political this was or whether there were sinister forces at hand, but having seen the disparity that exists between Army personnel and the comparable population i.e. a life of favours for the former; I can understand that the BDR themselves may have fallen into this equation of disparity, and seen it point blank with their superiors, and thus, took the matter, quite literally into their own hands. Had they delegated and unionised rather than the action they took...

[badx0romance]

@sa79sm you fucking ignorant fuck.

[battleboobs]

@sa79sm u r a faggot! u have no idea