An intense gunbattle broke out Wednesday morning inside the headquarters of Bangladesh's border security force in the capital, Dhaka, after several security personnel apparently staged a rebellion against the head of the force, officials said.
It was not immediately clear whether the gunfire resulted in casualties, the country's information ministry said.
The director general of the Bangladesh Rifles, Maj. Shakil Ahmed, was conducting a roll call inside the force's headquarters when the gunfire began, the ministry said.
"It's a serious, serious incident," said Mohammed Sajjad Haider, spokesman for the ministry. "Some soldiers have decided to rebel. The gunfire coming from inside is so heavy that no one has been able to go inside."
Several officers were trapped inside and their mobile phones were turned off, Haider said. "So it's making it very difficult for us to get information on exactly what is going on right now."
The Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) is a paramilitary force, responsible for primarily guarding the country's borders. The force, more than 65,000-strong, also takes part in other operations, such as monitoring polls, CNN reported.
The force's headquarters are in Dhaka, but it has several outposts along the borders.