DHAKA, Feb 27 Syed M. Kamruzzaman knows he had a lucky escape.

He saw 11 men killed before his very own eyes when the border guards known as the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) launched an armed mutiny. The colonel, on temporary posting from the army to the BDR, could have been one of the victims.

He was in a meeting at BDR headquarters in Dhaka when the mutineers stormed in.

“A group of guards barged into the hall where we were holding our meeting and hurled abuse at us, telling us they weren't treated properly. They demanded cheap rations, UN postings and better pay,” he said.

The guards, he said, were all armed -- some carrying submachine guns and others rifles. The head of the BDR, Major General Shakil Ahmed, was among those shot dead.

“None of us were armed. They told us to walk in single file, marched us outside and then four more guards came from nowhere and opened fire and Major General Shakil was gunned down,” Col Kamruzzaman said.

“Bullets sprayed from behind and I was hit in the stomach. I crawled to a bathroom and hid under a basin. They found me and shot me again but somehow I survived.

It was cold-blooded murder,” he said.

Other officers taken hostage have also revealed how they managed to escape death when the BDR troops decided to mutiny.

In Bangladesh, police and army personnel are regularly sent abroad on lucrative United Nations peacekeeping missions, but BDR troops work mainly domestically.

Between 4,000 and 5,000 people, including families of soldiers and officers, are believed to live in the headquarters compound where the drama unfolded.

Lt Col Shams told the English language newspaper New Age he hid under a cot when the armed guards began their siege.

“They picked on my domestic servant, beating him up seriously,” he said.

Many took cover in sewerage manholes for the entire 34 hours of the incident.

“It was dark and smelly. I jumped into it and kept the lid shut but could hear the sound of gunshots. I stayed there without any food and light. I could not separate day from night,” Major Munir told reporters.

With a total force of nearly 70,000 troops, the BDR's primary task is to patrol and secure Bangladesh's 4,000-kilometre border with both India and Myanmar.The average BDR trooper earns about 70 dollars a month -- the equivalent of a very low government clerk, and a salary that has long been a source of simmering discontent within the ranks.

The revolt, which began at the headquarters early on Wednesday, was reportedly triggered by the refusal of senior officers to consider appeals for more pay, subsidised food and holidays.

Most of the officers are seconded to the Rifles from the army for a tenure of two to four years, and the BDR troopers have complained that this makes them less than receptive to their particular grievances.

Some have accused the officers of skimming off their salaries and appropriating food supplies meant for distribution to the poor.

Some of the mutineers, who aired their grievances to television crews they invited into their headquarters, directly accused the BDR chief of making millions of dollars by stealing money from food funds.

The mutineers surrendered on Thursday and police say they have arrested some 200 troops. —AFP