Dhaka, July 29, SPA -- Bangladesh announced Wednesday that it would be pulling a portion of its troops out of the country's south-easternhilly region 12 years after a deal penned to end two decades ofinsurgency, according to dpa. The withdrawal of a brigade of troops including three infantrybattalions and 35 temporary security camps will be startedimmediately and concluded in September, a Defence Ministry statementsaid. This will be the biggest army withdrawal from the area after thetreaty was signed in 1997 for peace in the Chittagong Hill Tracts,the statement said, adding that the government was expecting thewithdrawal to be considered a milestone at which the rebelling hillpeople would implement pledges given by the ruling party. "The government is sincere and committed to fully implementing thetreaty," said the Defence Ministry, listing a number of steps to betaken. Home to 11 ethnic minority groups, Chittagong Hill Tracts accountsfor one-tenth of the country's total land area. The troop pull-out from temporary army bases was one of the majordemands by the groups as per the Chittagong Hill Tracts treaty.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/688665