Second grave found after Bangladesh revolt, 76 dead

Bangladeshi soldiers recovered 10 more bodies in a second mass grave in a military compound in the capital yesterday, bringing to 76 the death toll from a mutiny staged by border guards over pay.

Some 50 officers were still missing, fire service operations chief Sheikh Mohammad Shahjalal said.

"We have so far removed 10 dead bodies. They are badly decomposed and many are mutilated," he said, adding the army was questioning some of the border security guards in custody about the whereabouts of those missing.

"They not only shot them dead but some bodies were badly mutilated with bayonets," Shahjalal said.

"It's beyond comprehension how one human could have done this to another."

Some of the dead may have been burned in the 33-hour revolt by rank-and-file border security troops that began early Wednesday and bones had been found, he added.

Rescuers uncovered on Friday a first mass grave in the military compound that contained 38 bodies. Another 28 corpses were recovered in other parts of the compound, including in drains and sewers.

Most of the dead were senior military personnel, including the chief of the BDR. His wife's mutilated body was recovered yesterday.

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.

A joint funeral for the military personnel was expected to be held once all bodies had been recovered. Three days of national mourning began Friday.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described the deaths as "brutal acts of violence".

"The Secretary-General calls for calm and the resolution of this situation without further violence," said a statement released by his office, which expressed sympathy for victims and their families.

News of the grisly discoveries of the bodies filled the front-pages of Bangladesh newspapers. 'Mass grave horror numbs nation', said a headline in the English-language Daily Star, which commented in an editorial that the "barbarity" of the deaths was "unimaginable, unforgivable".

The government, meanwhile, issued a new order to all troops belonging to the 70,000-strong Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) to return to their posts within 24 hours.

In a nationwide television address yesterday, the army's second-in-command said the rank-and-file guards who turned on their superiors would be punished.

"The BDR 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."