Bangladeshi imam dies of panic

An imam died of heart attack and a physician of Bangladesh Peacekeeping Mission in Ivory Coast was bullet-hit during attacks by the supporters of incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo.
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni yesterday confirmed that Imam Abdus Salam, who hailed from Barisal, died of heart attack on April 10 while physician Md Muhibul Hasan received bullet wounds on April 9.
Police in Dhaka said the imam was of the rank and status of warrant officer of police and the physician was at Mymensingh Police Hospital prior to his posting in Ivory Coast.
The 120-member Bangladesh police contingent deployed at Gulf Hotel in Abidjan, commercial capital of Ivory Coast, included the imam and the doctor.
Internationally recognised elected president of the country Alassane Ouattara is staying at the hotel.
About 2,000 army and 361 police personnel from Bangladesh who have been working in Ivory Coast as UN peacekeepers are unhurt. Of the police men, one is in UN Police and all others are in Formed Police Unit (FPU).
Of them, 180 are deployed in Abidjan, 90 in Bouake airport area and 90 at the base station in Yamoussoukro city.
Briefing journalists yesterday, the foreign minister said the body of Abdus Salam will be brought back home under UN supervision. Condition of the injured doctor is improving.
She said UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon was informed of the matter by A K Abdul Momen, Bangladesh ambassador and permanent representative to the UN in New York, to take necessary measures for the safety and security of Bangladeshi peacekeepers in Ivory Coast.
Replying to a question, Dipu Moni said Bangladesh peacekeepers are deployed under the UN umbrella to ensure peace and safety of the civilians in the countries concerned, and not to join their internal fights.
Recently, forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo have stepped up a counter-attack on loyalists of Alassane Quattara.
Meanwhile, the bodies of Major KM Ziaul Haque and Corporal Clerk Md Yunus Mian, two Bangladeshi peacekeepers killed in a plane crash in Democratic Republic of Congo on April 4, are expected to be brought back home tomorrow after completion of all UN formalities.
According to an ISPR press release yesterday, they will be buried with military honour.
The two Bangladeshi blue helmet holders were among the 26 who died when a UN plane carrying staff members and peacekeepers broke into pieces on landing at the airport in Congo's capital Kinshasa. Six others survived the crash.