Bangladesh mutineers "arrested"

Some 200 members of Bangladesh's border security force involved in a two-day mutiny have been arrested while trying to escape, security officials say. The Bangladesh Rifles guards tried to flee their headquarters in the capital Dhaka, where the mutiny began, while dressed as civilians, a spokesman said. Bangladesh mutineers "arrested" The compound is now being searched for more than 130 army officers who were held hostage and are now feared dead. The official death toll from the revolt stands at 22, with dozens injured. "We have arrested nearly 200... troops who fled their barracks in civilian dress. We were given orders to arrest the mutineers," a spokesman for the elite Rapid Action Battalion, Commander Abul Kalam Azad, told the AFP news agency. He said checkpoints had been set up at roads leading out of Dhaka and surrounding the border guard barracks. "We are searching buses and trucks for any other rebel troops," he said. The border with India has been shut, Indian border security officials in Calcutta told the BBC. Search of sewers Bangladeshi troops have entered the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters in the hunt for missing officers. An armed forces spokesman said that only 31 of the 168 officers inside the compound have been accounted for. "We don't know what happened to the rest of the 137 officers. They are still missing," he said. One regular army officer who managed to escape said the hostage-takers had opened fire indiscriminately. "It was cold-blooded murder," Syed M. Kamruzzaman told the AFP. "They hurled abuse at us and gunned down whoever they wanted. I was shot at seven times and was lucky to get out alive." He said BDR chief Major General Shakil Ahmed had been shot in front of him, although there is no official confirmation of his death. Rescue workers are searching sewers and under manhole covers. Seven BDR troopers were also killed in the clashes, along with four civilians, including one boy. Amnesty offer The crisis began on Wednesday at about 09:30 local time (03:30 GMT) with heavy fighting. An army helicopter patrolling above the barracks was shot at and mortar rounds were also fired. Rank-and-file members of the BDR were said to be angry over their pay and conditions. The average BDR trooper earns about USD 70 a month, equivalent to the pay of a low-ranking government clerk, while their senior officers, in contrast, are relatively well-paid army officers. They ended their mutiny on Thursday after tanks surrounded the barracks and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina threatened tough action unless they surrendered. In a televised address to the nation, Sheikh Hasina called on the guards to abandon what she called their "suicidal action". "Lay down your guns immediately and go back to barracks," she said. "Do not force me to take tough actions or push my patience." The government has offered the border guards a general amnesty, although that is unlikely to extend to the ringleaders of the mutiny or those responsible for killing the officers, says the BBC in Dhaka says. The BDR has nearly 70,000 men stationed at 42 camps across the country, including 40,000 on the borders. It is unclear if mutineers at bases outside Dhaka have also given up.

Bangladesh mutineers "arrested"

The compound is now being searched for more than 130 army officers who were held hostage and are now feared dead.

The official death toll from the revolt stands at 22, with dozens injured.

"We have arrested nearly 200... troops who fled their barracks in civilian dress. We were given orders to arrest the mutineers," a spokesman for the elite Rapid Action Battalion, Commander Abul Kalam Azad, told the AFP news agency.

He said checkpoints had been set up at roads leading out of Dhaka and surrounding the border guard barracks.

"We are searching buses and trucks for any other rebel troops," he said.

The border with India has been shut, Indian border security officials in Calcutta told the BBC.

Search of sewers

Bangladeshi troops have entered the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters in the hunt for missing officers.

An armed forces spokesman said that only 31 of the 168 officers inside the compound have been accounted for.

"We don't know what happened to the rest of the 137 officers. They are still missing," he said.

One regular army officer who managed to escape said the hostage-takers had opened fire indiscriminately.

"It was cold-blooded murder," Syed M. Kamruzzaman told the AFP.

"They hurled abuse at us and gunned down whoever they wanted. I was shot at seven times and was lucky to get out alive."

He said BDR chief Major General Shakil Ahmed had been shot in front of him, although there is no official confirmation of his death.

Rescue workers are searching sewers and under manhole covers.

Seven BDR troopers were also killed in the clashes, along with four civilians, including one boy.

Amnesty offer

The crisis began on Wednesday at about 09:30 local time (03:30 GMT) with heavy fighting.

An army helicopter patrolling above the barracks was shot at and mortar rounds were also fired.

Rank-and-file members of the BDR were said to be angry over their pay and conditions. The average BDR trooper earns about USD 70 a month, equivalent to the pay of a low-ranking government clerk, while their senior officers, in contrast, are relatively well-paid army officers.

They ended their mutiny on Thursday after tanks surrounded the barracks and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina threatened tough action unless they surrendered.

In a televised address to the nation, Sheikh Hasina called on the guards to abandon what she called their "suicidal action".

"Lay down your guns immediately and go back to barracks," she said.

"Do not force me to take tough actions or push my patience."

The government has offered the border guards a general amnesty, although that is unlikely to extend to the ringleaders of the mutiny or those responsible for killing the officers, says the BBC in Dhaka says.

The BDR has nearly 70,000 men stationed at 42 camps across the country, including 40,000 on the borders.

It is unclear if mutineers at bases outside Dhaka have also given up.