Nine of the army officers, who died in the Boeing 727 crash on December 25, were buried in Banani army graveyard in Dhaka and the rest in their home villages.

Prayers were offered asking for the men, who were keeping peace in Sierra Leone and Liberia, two strife-torn neighbours of Benin, to be given martyrs' status.

The death marked the single largest military loss of Bangladesh, a frequent contributor to UN peacekeeping missions, since its independence from Pakistan in 1971.

Chiefs of the three services, high-ranking officials of the armed forces and relatives of the servicemen saw as the nine coffins were lowered into the graves at about 1:00pm.

A contingent of the armed forces paid a ceremonial guard, while army bugles played the last post.

The toddler of one of the victims peered into the freshly dug soil as his weeping grandfather told him: "There lies your father who will never talk to us again. Say goodbye to him."

Some family members, disconsolate with grief, had to be held back from the graves as the men were buried.

After the ceremony, army officers gave the victims' families the national and UN flags in which the coffins were draped.

The bodies of the six were sent to their home villages by helicopter.

Earlier, a namaz-e-janaza of the officers was held at Banani Army Stadium at 8:00am.

President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Iajuddin Ahmed, Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Hasan Mashhud Choudhury, Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Shah Iqbal Mujtaba and Chief of Air Force Air Vice-Marshal Fakhrul Azam attended the janaza, among others.

The president earlier paid his last tribute to the army officers, placing wreaths on their coffins.

After the janaza, the coffins of the peacekeepers draped in national flags were taken to the National Eidgah Maidan in a motorcade.

Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina and BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan paid their last tributes to the officers there.

The second namaz-e-janaza of the peacekeepers was held at the maidan which was attended by ministers, political leaders and judges.

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia received the bodies on Wednesday when they arrived on a UN plane and the country marked a national mourning day. Prayers were offered for the servicemen in mosques and other places of worship.