Mutineers from the paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) are meeting Prime Minister Sheik Hasina today in a bid to end fighting that killed at least one person and wounded nine more, officials said.
Government negotiators and 15 BDR men had gone to Ms Hasina's residence. "A team of rebel BDR soldiers is now holding talks with the prime minister," a senior security official said.
Heavy gunfire had broken out in the morning as enlisted men met with officers at the BDR's Dhaka headquarters, sending civilians fleeing and bringing a face-off with with troops and police.
Bangladesh, an impoverished South Asian country of more than 140 million, has experienced several successful and failed military coups in its history, but disputes over pay and benefits apparently sparked Wednesday's clash, security officials said.
"They are firing rifles, machineguns, artillery and all sorts of weapons," one police officer near the scene said of the initial action.
The shooting spilled over into the streets and civilians were hit by stray bullets, witnesses said. Flames rose from the BDR complex and big blasts were heard. Thick smoke filled the surrounding area.
Over the course of the day army troops entered the headquarters and also took up positions nearby. The shooting gradually grew more intermittent and the blasts ended.
"We cannot really get close to the scene but saw army troops crawling towards the headquarters and urging people" to leave, a Reuters television cameraman said.
The security forces later took positions all around the complex with mortars and other heavy weapons, he added.
Around 2,000 BDR soldiers are usually stationed in the headquarters. It was not known how many joined in the fighting. About 500 army troops and hundreds of police and other security forces were deployed to face off the nutineers.
The mutiny broke out even though Prime Minister Hasina met senior BDR officers at an annual parade on Tuesday and assured them her government would do its best to modernise the paramilitary and reward good performers.
Ms Hasina's party won election in December and took over from a military-backed interim government. Political analysts and diplomats hoped the country, with a long record of political violence, would move toward the stability needed to attract foreign investment.
"We have always been neglected and continuing apathy towards our genuine demands has pushed our backs on the wall," one mutineer told ATN television by telephone.
Government officials said the uprising could lead to serious consequences unless resolved quickly. They denied the mutiny was a coup attempt.
The BDR, whose main duty is guarding the country's borders, are often called in to back up the army and police in meeting other defence and security requirements.
The army supplies the officers for the BDR, and a rebel said one BDR officer was killed in Wednesday's mutiny.
A doctor at Dhaka Medical College Hospital said it had received one civilian dead from the fighting and nine people wounded, including one BDR member. He said he expected casualty figures to rise.
Scores of civilians were injured by stray bullets as they ran for cover, private television said. The BDR complex also houses a school where many students have been confined, anxious guardians told reporters.
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