Dhaka- At least two people were killed and 14 injured as heavy small arms and mortar fire erupted inside the central Dhaka headquarters of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) on Wednesday, officials and witnesses said.

Regular army troops attempting to enter the headquarters of the paramilitary border troops were fired on and turned away by the soldiers inside the compound.

Two people - one civilian and an army officer - were killed and 14 other people injured in the fighting which was still going on Wednesday afternoon, according to hospital sources and the rebel forces.

The paramilitary soldiers inside the compound, who constitute the country's main border security force, fired at several military helicopters hovering overhead.

Regular army troops and police evacuated civilians from the vicinity of the central Dhaka military compound.

Shopping complexes, schools and major streets around the BDR headquarters were closed throughout the day because of the sudden uprising of the soldiers in the heart of the capital city.

Sources inside the headquarters said the firing was touched off in the morning when senior officers, mostly drawn from the regular army, were conducting an annual conference in which the soldiers were allowed to vent their grievances.

But instead of just complaining, the enlisted men shouted at the army officers on the stage and held them hostage in the base's conference room. Several hundred of the soldiers then took control of the artillery and other heavy weapons inside the
2.6-square-kilometre compound, which is surrounded by a densely populated residential area.

"The officers opened fire on us and we only retaliated," an angry soldier told a group of journalists. He added that the officers were taken hostage and they will not be released until their demands, which include the withdrawal of some army officers from the top posts, are met.

Witnesses said several thousand gunshots and explosions were heard inside the headquarters.

They said the shooting broke out at about 8:30 am (0230 GMT) and the BDR headquarters had been sealed off since then.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed called on the rebelling soldiers to lay down their weapons and return to their barracks.

The firing paused in the afternoon when a government delegation carrying white flags were allowed in for negotiation.

The negotiating team, headed by a junior minister, Jahangir Kabir, entered the BDR headquarters and came out shortly after along with a few rebel soldiers. The soldiers were taken to Prime Minister Hasina's official Jamuna residence for talks.

Earlier, a special meeting of the cabinet headed by the prime minister asked Home Minister Sahara Khatun, to launch the negotiations.

"I'm assuring you that I'll try my best to resolve the problem after listening to you," the home minister told the rebel soldiers in a televised statement.

The paramilitary troopers said they want the border force to be headed by their own officers instead of officers from the regular armed forces. They said the army officers have been depriving them of their privileges.

"The country was liberated 38 years ago, but our department is not. We want absolute independence, our department will be run by our own officers," shouted one of the BDR soldiers carrying a Chinese rifle.

Other soldiers inside the compound shouted they were ready to die and accused army officers of embezzling millions of dollars allocated to the BDR forces.

"If our demands are not met, we will continue our movement across 400 camps across Bangladesh," said one of the angry troopers.

The rebels demanded the withdrawal of the troops deployed around the headquarters, otherwise they will continue firing and spread their rebellion across the country.

Another of the paramilitary soldiers said the army officers were confined in a room inside the compound.

"We did not kill them. Only one officer was killed," said the trooper, giving no other details.

Civilians living near the base at first thought the gunshots were part of week-long annual programme of the Bangladesh Rifles.

But when the BDR troopers came out of the headquarters and fired indiscriminately, people fled in panic.

Bangladesh returned to civilian rule in December after two years under a military-backed government.

India was closely monitoring the situation in Dhaka, diplomatic sources said.

"Our high commissioner is in India but we are in constant touch with our deputy high commissioner, military attache and other senior staff in our mission in Dhaka," one diplomat said.

Troops along India's border with Bangladesh have been placed on alert.

Bangladesh is encircled by Indian territory, and the two nations share a 4,096-kilometer border, of which 2,979 kilometres is on land and the rest is water. (dpa)