DHAKA, Feb 26: A mutiny by thousands of Bangladesh border guards ended in their surrender on Thursday, after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina warned they were on a suicidal path that could only end in bloodshed.

But uncertainty remained over the fate of more than 130 army officers still missing after rank-and-file guards in the paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) took them hostage in a dispute over pay and conditions.

“All the troops have surrendered their weapons and gone back to their barracks,” the prime minister’s spokesman, Abul Kalam Azad, told AFP, adding that all remaining hostages had been freed.

But a spokesman for the armed forces who did not wish to be named said only 31 of the 168 officers inside the compound when the mutiny began were accounted for.

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

Tensions in the BDR had been simmering for months but exploded into violence on Wednesday when senior officers dismissed appeals for more pay, subsidised food and holidays.

Police have put the official death toll at 20 with dozens more injured, although one minister earlier said that as many as 50 officers may have been killed by their men.

Among the missing was the head of the BDR, Major-General Shakil Ahmed, who was on Thursday reported to have been shot dead during the rebellion.

“Major General Shakil Ahmed was among the first to be killed by the mutinous soldiers. They shot him dead at the Durbar Hall,” his colleague colonel M. Kamruzzaman told private TV station ATN Bangla.

In a televised address to the nation, Sheikh Hasina, who took office less than two months ago, threatened to put down the mutiny by force.

“Just give up your arms and return to barracks right now,” she said. “Don’t take the suicidal route. Don’t compel me to take tough action. We are aware of your problems. Please help us.” Shortly after Sheikh Hasina’s address, the army had positioned tanks and armoured personnel carriers close to the BDR headquarters.

Earlier on Thursday, the revolt appeared to be spreading to a number of other BDR posts outside the capital.

Police chiefs across the poor and chronically unstable South Asian nation said BDR members had revolted in 15 border districts — roughly a quarter of the zones where border security forces are stationed.

Police chief Kamrul Ahsan, from the southeastern town of Satkania, reported “heavy fighting” at a BDR training centre.

“The situation across the country is calm and quiet. Everything is now under control,” Azad said.—AFP