By Xinhua,
Dhaka : Bangladeshi troops are deployed across the country on Saturday to help ensure peaceful parliamentary elections scheduled on Dec. 29 this year.
SM Asaduzzaman, a senior spokesman of Bangladesh Election Commission (BEC), told Xinhua on Saturday that “troops will work in aid of the civil administration.”
He said the troops will get ready as ‘strike force’ to maintain law and order situation in accordance with the decision of the BEC.
Troops started rolling out on Thursday from barracks, two days earlier than the schedule, the BEC spokesman said.
The Bangladeshi caretaker government pulled troops back to the barracks weeks before ending nearly two years of emergency on Dec.17, but decided to re-deploy them from Saturday until the election.
Bangladeshi President Iajuddin Ahmed declared state of emergency on Jan. 11, 2007 amid the severe political situation and postponed the election which was scheduled to be held on Jan. 22, 2007.
A new caretaker government headed by former central bank governor Fakhruddin Ahmed took office on Jan. 12, 2007 and ruled the country since then.