Dhaka - Fifty Bangladeshi army officers are feared dead after thousands of border guards staged a mutiny over pay, sparking fierce gun battles and spreading panic through the capital, a minister said Thursday.
Weeping women and children emerged from the headquarters of the paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) in Dhaka early Thursday after the rebels began laying down their arms under an amnesty offer from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The mutiny, in which five people are confirmed dead, has posed the biggest challenge to the prime minister since she took office less than two months ago, after a landslide election victory that ended two years of army-backed rule.
Bangladeshi soldiers carry munitions as they gather outside the Bangladesh Rifles headquarters
Deputy law minister Kamrul Islam said the situation was still tense as thousands of armed troops were still believed to be inside the compound in the capital, keeping police and government negotiators waiting outside.
"The BDR troops began surrendering arms in our presence. But there are some 15,000 of them -- around 12,000 could have weapons," Islam told AFP.
"The situation is still very tense. We are now preparing to go inside the compound again and quicken the surrender process," he said, without elaborating.
A government team led by agriculture minister Motia Chowdhury was waiting outside the compound early Thursday -- where thousands of police and troops have been deployed -- to meet with the rebel soldiers.
Islam earlier said that at least 50 officers held hostage were feared dead.
"We talked to the BDR troops and they said some 50 officers have been killed," he told reporters, adding he could not confirm the deaths as he had not seen the bodies himself.
"We heard that the casualties were kept at a hospital inside the compound," he said. "There are no traces of the officers."
Five people have already been confirmed dead, among them two senior army officers whose bodies were found dumped in a drain outside the barracks.
The military had said the rebels were holding at least 100 hostages inside the compound.
Footage run by state-run BTV showed about 30 women and children being driven from the building early Thursday.
"We knocked on their doors. Many of them were so afraid that they had holed up in their bathrooms," Islam told AFP.
The mutiny began early Wednesday when rank-and-file BDR soldiers took up arms against their superiors.
Officials said tensions in the force had been simmering for months but exploded into violence when senior officers dismissed appeals for more pay, subsidised food and holidays.
Panic quickly spread through the capital, sparking gun battles that left more than 40 people wounded, according to police and medical officials.
Sheikh Hasina held emergency talks with the rebels late Wednesday, offering an amnesty and agreeing to consider their demands.
Home Minister Sahara Khatun entered the BDR headquarters shortly after midnight accompanied by the national police chief to oversee the surrender of arms.
"I have assured the BDR members that there will be no attack by army men. The prime minister has granted a general amnesty to them and they should not fear any reprisals," Khatun said, according to BTV.
The stand-off highlighted the frustrations felt by many people in impoverished Bangladesh who are faced with high food prices, a sluggish economy and rampant corruption within the country's ruling classes.
Since winning independence from Pakistan in 1971, Bangladesh has had a history of political violence, coups and counter-coups.
The country was run by military dictator Hussain Mohammad Ershad from 1982 to 1990, before democracy was restored in 1991.
In January 2007, the army again stepped in, cancelling elections and declaring a state of emergency following months of political unrest. Democracy was restored with elections last December.
Source: Bangkok Post
