[QODLink]
Central & South Asia
Tribunals to try Dhaka mutineers
Bangladesh pledges to punish mutineers as hundreds of border guards start returning.
Last Modified: 01 Mar 2009 13:17 GMT

Scores of bodies have been recovered after
the border guards mutinied [AFP]

The Bangladeshi government has decided to form special tribunals to try border guards who mutinied in the capital Dhaka, leaving at least 80 army officers dead and 70 more missing.

The decision came as Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) troops, who had fled their headquarters after the mutiny,  started returning to their posts on Sunday following a 24-hour ultimatum.

The mutiny, in which about 9,000 border guards rose up against their superiors on Wednesday, is believed to have been provoked by poor pay and work conditions.

Sheikh Hasina, the country's prime minister, had earlier offered the border guards a general amnesty, but she retracted the offer after it became known that the mutineers had resorted to large-scale killings of their seniors.

Syed Ashraful Islam, a government minister, said the decision to set up the tribunals was made at a cabinet meeting led by Hasina late on Saturday.

Wanted for murder

Meanwhile, police said that 1,000 mutineers were wanted for murder.

The government has also decided to give 1 million taka ($14,520 ) to the families of each of the victims.

On Sunday, witnesses said that about 1,000 border guards had returned and were waiting to be let inside the BDR headquarters.

Over the last two days, firefighters and emergency workers have discovered scores of bodies from at least three mass graves inside the BDR headquarters in Dhaka.

Among the bodies unearthed were those of Major-General Shakil Ahmed, the BDR commander, and his wife.

All had been shot dead and their bodies hurriedly dumped in sewers.

Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque, reporting from Dhaka, quoted eyewitnesses as saying that it all started in the Bangladesh Rifles meeting hall, where officers and soldiers of the army and BDR had gathered for a celebration.

Trouble started when the BDR director general apprehended a border guard for entering the hall with a gun against the rules.  

The incident provoked a collective walk out of the BDR soldiers, Haque said.

Witnesses said that thirty heavily armed border guards returned soon after dressed in fatigues, spraying the senior officials with a round of bullets, kicking off this two day bloodbath.

Manhunt launched

About 300 BDR troops have been arrested and thousands remain at large after fleeing the compound following the killings.

In depth



 Focus: Mutiny reveals chaos
 Gallery: The Rifles' revolt
 Country profile: Bangladesh

A mass funeral for the dead military personnel was expected to be held once all bodies had been recovered.

Bangladesh has been observing three days of national mourning since Friday.

The insurrection is believed to have erupted over frustrations among the guards, who earn about $100 a month, that their pay has failed to keep pace with soldiers in the army.

Their anger was futher aggravated by the rise in food prices that has accompanied the global economic crisis.

Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
Topics in this article
Country
City
Organisation
Featured on Al Jazeera
An unflinching portrait of physical labour in the 21st century.
The stark choice between a fascist or an imperialist course in Syria should be discarded for a third and better course.
Israel's propaganda machine carefully chooses its words to assert illegal ownership over Jerusalem and Palestine.
As Western fears grow over Iran's continuing nuclear programme, we ask how a military strike could impact the region.
<  > 
join our mailing list

Enter Zip Code
Go