02-27-2009, 04:37 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>BDR mutiny over; 100 feared killed</b>
pioneer.com
Anisur Rahman | Dhaka
Mutinous Bangladesh Rifles men surrendered on Thursday night and freed all hostages ending their<b> two-day revolt during which they killed at least 50 Army personnel and others,</b> yielding to an ultimatum by the Government which despatched tanks to their headquarters here.
After the mutiny over a pay rise had spread beyond Dhaka to other cantonment areas in the country, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed demanded that the revolting soldiers of BDR, a paramilitary force deployed on border, should lay down their arms or face tough action.
Thereafter, tanks surrounded the BDR headquarters at Pilkhana area in the heart of Dhaka and also took positions near the residence of the Prime Minister.
Faced with the possibility of an Army operation, the mutinous soldiers laid down their arms and released hostages whose number was not immediately clear. Hasina has already promised amnesty to them.
A Brigadier-rank Deputy Director-General of BDR, which has a total strength of over 40,000, was among those killed by the rebels who also gunned down a large number of other military officers on deputation. Police said identities of at least two of <b>the dead, BDRâs DDG Brig Abdul Bari and Operations Director Col Anis, had been established.</b>
Officially, the death toll was put at 50 but other reports, not confirmed by authorities, put the figure at over 100. This is said to include families of some Army personnel.
In a brief televised address to the nation, Hasina told the mutineers, âDonât take the suicidal route. Donât compel me to take tough action.â
This was the first major challenge confronting Hasina who assumed office less than two months ago after a landslide victory in the December election that saw the end of the caretaker Governmentâs two-year Army-backed rule.
A dozen women inside the BDR headquarters were first set free by the mutineers, raising hopes of the revolt being contained.
In Dinajpur and Rangpur districts -- both sectoral headquarters of BDR -- soldiers came out of barracks and held demonstrations, but there was no report of violence.
The mutineers were demanding more pay, additional subsidised food and holidays and blamed the Army officers for not effectively putting up their case before the Government.
<b>As fresh firing erupted during the day, Army tanks were deployed outside the BDR headquarters. Preparations were in full gear for storming the premises when the rebels waved a white flag indicating their readiness to surrender</b>.
Witnesses said the Army troops issued a notice asking residents in the three-and-a-half-kilometre radius of the BDR headquarters to evacuate their houses, offices and shops, giving a one-hour deadline.
Home Minister Sahara Khatun had gone inside the BDR headquarters along with a Government delegation, including police chief Noor Mohammad, after midnight last night to oversee the surrender process.
A rebel preferring anonymity told the ATN Bangla television channel that 10 to 15 BDR soldiers and officers, who were serving the paramilitary force on deputation from Army, were killed during the revolt.
Earlier reports had said that bodies of 12 Army officers were recovered from inside the BDR headquarters.
However, the fate of BDR chief Maj-Gen Shakil Ahmed was not known. âWe could not establish any contact with him (Ahmed) yet,â Government negotiator Fazle Noor Taposh, an MP, told reporters outside the BDR headquarters emerging from the three-hour-long talks with the mutineers.
Taposh said the rebels were divided in several groups without having an âorganisedâ structure. âThey are of different opinions but we talked and listened to all of them.â
Red Cross ambulances carried nearly two dozen injured to different medical facilities from the BDR headquarters.
âThey (rebels) brought the injured people to the main entrance (of BDR headquarters) in their ambulances, from where we brought the wounded to hospitals outside,â a Red Cross worker told newsmen, adding that they were not allowed to go inside.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
pioneer.com
Anisur Rahman | Dhaka
Mutinous Bangladesh Rifles men surrendered on Thursday night and freed all hostages ending their<b> two-day revolt during which they killed at least 50 Army personnel and others,</b> yielding to an ultimatum by the Government which despatched tanks to their headquarters here.
After the mutiny over a pay rise had spread beyond Dhaka to other cantonment areas in the country, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed demanded that the revolting soldiers of BDR, a paramilitary force deployed on border, should lay down their arms or face tough action.
Thereafter, tanks surrounded the BDR headquarters at Pilkhana area in the heart of Dhaka and also took positions near the residence of the Prime Minister.
Faced with the possibility of an Army operation, the mutinous soldiers laid down their arms and released hostages whose number was not immediately clear. Hasina has already promised amnesty to them.
A Brigadier-rank Deputy Director-General of BDR, which has a total strength of over 40,000, was among those killed by the rebels who also gunned down a large number of other military officers on deputation. Police said identities of at least two of <b>the dead, BDRâs DDG Brig Abdul Bari and Operations Director Col Anis, had been established.</b>
Officially, the death toll was put at 50 but other reports, not confirmed by authorities, put the figure at over 100. This is said to include families of some Army personnel.
In a brief televised address to the nation, Hasina told the mutineers, âDonât take the suicidal route. Donât compel me to take tough action.â
This was the first major challenge confronting Hasina who assumed office less than two months ago after a landslide victory in the December election that saw the end of the caretaker Governmentâs two-year Army-backed rule.
A dozen women inside the BDR headquarters were first set free by the mutineers, raising hopes of the revolt being contained.
In Dinajpur and Rangpur districts -- both sectoral headquarters of BDR -- soldiers came out of barracks and held demonstrations, but there was no report of violence.
The mutineers were demanding more pay, additional subsidised food and holidays and blamed the Army officers for not effectively putting up their case before the Government.
<b>As fresh firing erupted during the day, Army tanks were deployed outside the BDR headquarters. Preparations were in full gear for storming the premises when the rebels waved a white flag indicating their readiness to surrender</b>.
Witnesses said the Army troops issued a notice asking residents in the three-and-a-half-kilometre radius of the BDR headquarters to evacuate their houses, offices and shops, giving a one-hour deadline.
Home Minister Sahara Khatun had gone inside the BDR headquarters along with a Government delegation, including police chief Noor Mohammad, after midnight last night to oversee the surrender process.
A rebel preferring anonymity told the ATN Bangla television channel that 10 to 15 BDR soldiers and officers, who were serving the paramilitary force on deputation from Army, were killed during the revolt.
Earlier reports had said that bodies of 12 Army officers were recovered from inside the BDR headquarters.
However, the fate of BDR chief Maj-Gen Shakil Ahmed was not known. âWe could not establish any contact with him (Ahmed) yet,â Government negotiator Fazle Noor Taposh, an MP, told reporters outside the BDR headquarters emerging from the three-hour-long talks with the mutineers.
Taposh said the rebels were divided in several groups without having an âorganisedâ structure. âThey are of different opinions but we talked and listened to all of them.â
Red Cross ambulances carried nearly two dozen injured to different medical facilities from the BDR headquarters.
âThey (rebels) brought the injured people to the main entrance (of BDR headquarters) in their ambulances, from where we brought the wounded to hospitals outside,â a Red Cross worker told newsmen, adding that they were not allowed to go inside.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->