Second mass grave found after Bangladesh revolt

DHAKA, Feb 28, (AFP) - Bangladeshi soldiers recovered 10 bodies in a second mass grave in a military compound in the capital today, bringing to 76 the death toll from an armed mutiny staged by border guards over pay.

The number of dead bodies in the grave was expected to rise as the search of the grave continued, fire service operations chief Sheikh Mohammad Shahjalal said.

Bangladeshi firefighters unearth the body of an officer from a mass grave discovered at the Bangladesh Rifles headquarters. AFP

“We have so far removed 10 dead bodies but there are still many more we need to dig out. They are badly decomposed and many are mutilated,” he said. “It's beyond comprehension how one human could have done this to another.

They not only shot them dead but some bodies were badly mutilated with bayonets,” he said. Rescuers uncovered Friday a first mass grave in the military compound that contained 38 bodies, and Shahjalal said he feared the second grave was bigger.

Another 28 bodies have been recovered in other parts of the compound including in drains and sewers following the 33-hour revolt by rank-and-file border security troops that began early Wednesday. Most of the dead were senior military personnel.

The latest grave was discovered well hidden in the corner of a garden Shahjalal said. “We have to exercise extreme caution when removing these bodies because so many are disfigured. It's not just a matter of shovelling them out,” he added.

In a nationwide television address Saturday, the army's second-in-command said the rank-and-file guards who turned on their superiors would be punished. “The BDR (Bangladesh Rifles) troops who took part in these barbaric and grisly acts cannot be pardoned and will not be pardoned,” said Lieutenant General M.A. Mubin.

“They will be given exemplary and quick punishment by a special tribunal. The martyrs will be buried with state honours.” Tensions in the BDR had simmered for months but erupted into violence when senior officers rejected appeals for more pay, subsidised food and holidays.

The guards agreed to put down their arms after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina -- who took office two months ago -- appeared on national television and threatened to put down the mutiny by force.