Dhaka, July 30 - The Bangladesh government has ordered its biggest troops pullout from Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), its restive southeastern region that is home to minority Buddhist tribals.

The decision to withdraw a brigade of troops including three infantry battalions and 35 security camps was announced Wednesday, honouring a treaty signed 12 years ago.

'This withdrawal process will start immediately and will conclude in September 2009,' an Inter Service Public Relations department release said.

With this, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina pushed forward a reconciliation process she initiated by a signing a treaty in 1997 during her earlier tenure.

Withdrawal of troops was among the pledges made by Hasina's 1996-2001 government which concluded the peace deal aiming to end two decades of bloody insurgency that began in mid-1970s when the army was deployed to help settle the Muslim population.

Many of the ethnic minority rebels immediately surrendered their arms.

While the government withdrew 200 temporary army camps, most of the pledges remained shelved, causing dissatisfaction among the communities living in the hilly terrain, New Age newspaper said.