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Bangladesh guard mutiny 'is over' Bangladesh guard mutiny is over
(about 2 hours later)
Bangladeshi border guards have ended their mutiny, surrendering weapons and freeing hostages, the government says. Bangladeshi border guards have ended their two-day mutiny, surrendering their weapons and freeing all hostages.
A government spokesman, speaking from inside the compound in the capital, Dhaka, where the troops had been holding out, said the crisis was over. A government spokesman said the crisis in Dhaka was over, as the toll stood at 20 dead and dozens injured, lower than a previous estimate of 50 dead.
The statement came after tanks surrounded the guards' barracks and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina threatened tough action unless they surrendered.The statement came after tanks surrounded the guards' barracks and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina threatened tough action unless they surrendered.
The mutiny began in Dhaka on Wednesday and spread around the country. It is unclear if mutineers at bases outside Dhaka have also surrendered.
"All the rebel troops have surrendered with their arms and the process has been completed," Sheikh Hasina's spokesman Abul Kalam Azad said of the Dhaka mutineers."All the rebel troops have surrendered with their arms and the process has been completed," Sheikh Hasina's spokesman Abul Kalam Azad said of the Dhaka mutineers.
He urged rebel troops outside the capital to lay down their arms as well. He urged rebel troops from the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) outside the capital to lay down their arms as well.
The bodies of nine army officers have been recovered, apparently killed by the mutineers - military officials say many more officers are unaccounted for. The bodies of nine army officers have been recovered from the BDR complex, apparently killed by the mutineers.
Nearly 50 people are thought to have died on Wednesday in clashes involving the regular army at the border guards' Dhaka headquarters. Military officials said they are searching the complex for more than 100 missing officers. Some are thought to have hidden in manholes.
The mutiny is believed to have been triggered by anger over pay and conditions. Seven BDR troopers were also killed in the clashes, along with four civilians, including one boy.
Grievances Negotiations
Earlier on Thursday, in a televised address to the nation, the prime minister called on the border guards in the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) to abandon what she called their "suicidal action". Army tanks had been positioned around the border force's headquarters in Dhaka where the rank-and-file guards had mutinied over pay and conditions.
In pictures: Bangladesh violenceQ&A: Border guards mutinyEyewitness: Bangladesh mutiny href="/1/hi/world/south_asia/7913554.stm">Bangladesh spared more gunfire class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/7911960.stm">In pictures: Bangladesh violenceQ&A: Border guards mutinyEyewitness: Bangladesh mutiny
The average BDR trooper earns about $70 (£49) a month, equivalent to the pay of a low-ranking government clerk. Their senior officers, in contrast, are relatively well-paid army officers.
As the tense standoff continued outside, a delegation led by the Home Minister Shahara Khatun bravely negotiated an end to the crisis, our correspondent Mark Dummett reports from Dhaka.
First they persuaded the mutineers to release their remaining hostages. About 150 people, mainly women and children, but also 20 BDR officers were freed.
Then they talked the mutineers into laying down their guns. Some tried to escape and were arrested, but the vast majority, who officials say could number up to 7,000 gave up peacefully.
Amnesty
Earlier on Thursday, in a televised address to the nation, the prime minister called on the border guards BDR to abandon what she called their "suicidal action".
"Lay down your guns immediately and go back to barracks," she said."Lay down your guns immediately and go back to barracks," she said.
"Do not force me to take tough actions or push my patience," she said."Do not force me to take tough actions or push my patience," she said.
The government offered the border guards a general amnesty, and the prime minister promised to look into the soldiers' grievances.The government offered the border guards a general amnesty, and the prime minister promised to look into the soldiers' grievances.
The BDR has nearly 70,000 men stationed at 42 camps across the country, including 40,000 on the borders.
The crisis began on Wednesday at about 0930 local time (0330 GMT) with heavy fighting. An army helicopter patrolling above the barracks was shot at and mortar rounds were also fired.The crisis began on Wednesday at about 0930 local time (0330 GMT) with heavy fighting. An army helicopter patrolling above the barracks was shot at and mortar rounds were also fired.
Spreading mutinySpreading mutiny
By early Thursday, border guards in at least 12 different towns and cities were reported to have seized control of their barracks. The situation was unclear at bases outside of Dhaka, but there were no reports of firing late on Thursday, the BBC Bengali Service said.
There were 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. Earlier in the day, border guards in at least 12 different towns and cities were reported to have seized control of their barracks.
Soldiers were sent to the barracks seized by mutinous border guardsSoldiers were sent to the barracks seized by mutinous border guards
Similar incidents were reported in Chittagong, Cox's Bazaar, Feni and Khulna in the south. In at least two places, one of them the main port city of Chittagong, mutineers have released hostages they were holding.
The police chief in the north-eastern Moulivibazar district told the AFP news agency that the border guards were "firing indiscriminately". The situation was unclear at Feni, on the eastern border with India, in Rajshahi in the north west, Sylhet in the north, Cox's Bazaar, and Khulna in the south.
In some cases, the border guards took their officers hostage, and in others they forced them to leave, reports said. Mobile phone service was temporarily suspended across the country on Thursday in a bid to stop the rebellion spreading.
Some guards had begun laying down their arms on Thursday at their barracks in the Pilkhana area of Dhaka when heavy gunfire resumed. The BDR has nearly 70,000 men stationed at 42 camps across the country, including 40,000 on the borders.
Schools in the surrounding area were closed for the day and mobile phone service was suspended across the country in a bid to stop the rebellion spreading.
Indian border officials told the BBC that all the posts on the West Bengal border were closed, as were posts in the north-eastern state of Tripura.
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