Hasina holds talks with mutinous troopers

Agencies

Dhaka: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government faced its first serious crisis on Wednesday when a mutiny by Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) troopers left at least four people dead and scores injured in the heart of the capital city.

Poor pay packets and working conditions appeared to be the cause of the rebellion.

On arrival at Hasina's residence, the BDR troopers demanded the army cordon be withdrawn before talks were held.

"We want to tell them that we need freedom.

"Everybody knows how miserably we live. We cannot work independently. We don't have a department of our own," an unidentified trooper, part of the delegation, was quoted by Star Online as saying.

Angry troopers spoke in terms of a "war".

"We have no problem to surrender our arms. But we won't turn ourselves in until our demands are met, and this war will continue."

BDR, which guards over 4,400 km long border with India and Myanmar, is headed by an army general.

Trouble broke out at 7.45 a.m. as the national capital heard gun and mortar shots.

Huge columns of black smoke rose from the BDR complex in the heart of the capital, with some reports saying there had been an unspecified number of casualties. One of the dead was said to be an innocent rickshaw puller on a Dhaka street.

Soldiers who tried to storm the BDR headquarters, scene of the fighting, were thwarted by the protesting paramilitary personnel who guarded all the gates of the complex, said residents who swarmed the streets after hearing about the battle.

The cause of the rebellion was unclear but some government sources said the trouble erupted during a meeting of the BDR personnel and its officers over frequent transfers and poor salaries.

"Stop firing and go back to barracks in the greater interest of the country and the image of the BDR," the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's public-relations outfit, said.

Thousands of rounds of gunshots and mortar firing were heard in Dhaka since the mutiny erupted around 7.45 a.m. At least four army officers have been killed and dozens are held hostage, claimed one protester.

Some officials believe the death toll could be much higher as the soldiers were seen firing weapons in all directions. A fire also raged at the BDR headquarters.

Hundreds of BDR personnel wearing red bandanas and partly covering their faces with yellow clothes crowded the gates, screaming that they had many grievances.

Army helicopters also fired shots into the BDR compound.

According to Bangladesh television, heavy weapons like cannons were used to damage some buildings. Soldiers driving armoured vehicles were shooting to prevent the Rapid Action Battalion and the army from overwhelming them.

The United News of Bangladesh (UNB) quoted Hasina as saying that she was "ready to listen to all their complaints and problems".

Even as the authorities warned of "stern action" if the BDR troopers did not give up, reinforcements of soldiers in battle fatigues and the police laid a siege to the BDR complex.

The unrest emptied large parts of otherwise perennially crowded city. All the markets close to the BDR complex remained closed. Some relatives of BDR officers and soldiers were seen crying.