Bodies of B'deshi soldiers return from Ivory Coast

DHAKA, Sep 4 (Reuters) Bodies of six Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers killed in a road crash in Ivory Coast were flown home today, officials said.

The soldiers died when their lorry overturned into a ditch near Abidjan on August 26, hours after they had arrived in the former French colony.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan received the bodies brought by a UN plane at Dhaka international airport amid a state ceremony.

Bangladesh has nearly 3000 soldiers with the UN peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast, split in two since rebels seized its northern half following a failed attempt to oust President Laurent Gbagbo in September 2002.

Overall, around 10,000 Bangladeshis have been working in 12 UN missions worldwide, the Bangladeshi army said.

REUTERS SSC KN1628