Bangladesh to reinforce border to c

[darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx]

  12Jul2000 BANGLADESH: B'desh to reinforce border
  to curb trafficking. 09:05 GMT

  DHAKA, July 12 (Reuters) - Bangladesh said on Wednesday it plans to
  nearly double its frontier force to contain smuggling, drug trafficking and
  trade in women and children along its borders with India and Myanmar.
  The plan was revealed by a senior security official a day after Indian
  border guards shot dead two Bangladeshi farmers in a northern frontier
  zone.
  Major-General Fazlur Rahman, director-general of the Bangladesh Rifles
  border force, said the plan was expected to win formal government soon,
  adding 33,000 soldiers to a force of 70,000 over the next three years.
  "We also expect to raise a helicopter fleet and a riverine battalion to
  maintain order along the country's more than 4,000 km (2,500 miles)
  border with India and Myanmar," Rahman added.
  The BDR would improve vigilance against trafficking of women and
  children and cultivation of opium in deep forests, Rahman said.
  The Bangladeshi National Women Lawyers' Association says at least
  7,000 women and children are smuggled out of the country each year and
  many are sold to brothels.
  The river battalion was needed to crack down on drug dealers, pirates and
  poachers in the Sundarban mangrove forest, which Bangladesh and India
  share, he said.
  The BDR and Indian Border Security Force often trade shots over a range
  of disputes including trespassing from either side, officials said.
  On Tuesday, the Indian soldiers shot dead two Bangladeshis working on
  their rice farm along the frontier in northern Kurigram district, security
  officials said.