Bangladesh Army Mutiny (2009)

A mutiny by Bangladesh's border guard unit, the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), resulted in heavy combat in the capital city of Dhaka on February 25, 2009, as the mutineers battled against troops loyal to the government. The reasons for the revolt were speculated to involve issues of pay and living conditions, though a new government took office in January of 2009, and the rebellion may be politically motivated. The BDR is a military force of some 42,000 troops whose main task is to guard the nation's very long border.
By the end of the first day of the mutiny, the government reported nearly 50 deaths as a result of the fighting, including senior commanders of the Bangladesh Rifles. The officers apparently died as lower-ranking soldiers took the officers hostage at the beginning of the mutiny.The rebel troops also took control of a shopping mall near their Dhaka barracks. By Thursday, the second day of the rebellion, reports indicated that the mutiny had spread across the country to involve military barracks throughout Bangladesh.
As the violence spread, mutineers rebelled in the southern town of Tekhnaf early Thursday, forcing the unit commander to flee. Violence also erupted at Bangladesh Rifle bases in Cox's Bazar, Chittagong and Naikhongchari in the south, Sylhet in the northeast, Rajshahi and Naogaon in the northwest. Bangladeshi television stations reported border guard rebellions in 12 of the 64 border districts where the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) is stationed.


After the government sent armored units of the army into the capital, the rebels in Dhaka surrendered, but reports of continued violence around the country continued.
By the end of the second day, violence ended as the mutineers surrendered. At least 148 people died, most of them military officers.