Bangladesh massacre

This item appears on page 21 of the May 2009 issue.

On Feb. 25-26 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, members of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), a paramilitary organization responsible for border security, mutineed, temporarily seizing control at headquarters.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina, in power since December, attempted to negotiate, offering to address the rebels’ grievances and provide amnesty, but the rebels refused to surrender. Tanks were sent in, and when the siege was over, more than 70 people had been killed, mostly army officers but also family members and others. Thousands of the border guards escaped, taking weapons from the armory. The security situation remains unsettled.