Bangladeshi guards open fire in protest

[Joanne98]

Source: AP


Dhaka, Bangladesh -- Mutinous border guards opened fire in their headquarters and seized a shopping mall here in the Bangladeshi capital today, injuring several people in an apparent pay dispute, officials and reports said. The army moved in to quell the unrest.

Sajjad Haider, a spokesman for Bangladesh Rifles, the official name of the border guards, said he did not have details on the shooting.


A reporter said that intermittent gunshots were heard nearly four hours after the start of violence. Army troops took positions outside the mall.

Prime Minister Sheik Hasina Wajed's newly elected government urged the guards to lay down their arms and return to barracks, offering to hold talks over their demands, a military statement said.

An ETV correspondent at the scene earlier said guards chanted slogans for more pay and better facilities.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bangladesh25-2009feb25,0,5145297.story