Dhaka  - Accused war criminals from Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence from Pakistan are to be prosecuted under existing domestic law, a senior minister said Wednesday.

Those accused of collaborating with Pakistani troops in the atrocities of 38 years ago would be tried under the International Crimes Tribunals Act, passed two years after the liberation war, Shafiq Ahmed, the minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs, told reporters at his office.

The announcement came a day ahead of the country's independence and national day in line with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed's electoral pledge to try the war criminals.

After consultations and examinations of how to conduct the trials since it assumed office in early January, the government decided that the existing law was "good enough" to try the suspects, Shafiq said.

One or more tribunals made up of three to four members would be formed under the act for trials to be carried out as quickly as possible, he said.

He added that the process of bringing the suspects to trial is already under way, but he did not gave a date for beginning the tribunals.

The government this week barred suspected war criminals from travelling abroad.

In late January, Bangladesh's Parliament approved a resolution seeking the speedy prosecution of war criminals in line with the ruling party's promise.

According to historians, 3 million unarmed people were killed during Bangladesh's war of independence against Pakistani forces in 1971, 200,000 women were violated and tens of thousands of homes were torched by Pakistani forces and their local collaborators.

An early initiative to prosecute war crimes was called off after the 1975 political changeover following the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the architect of Bangladesh's independence and father of Bangladesh's current prime minister.

The Bangladesh Sector Commander Forum, a group of 1971 war veterans, revealed last year that 11,000 indicted war criminals were released from jail a few months after Mujib's assassination on August 15, 1975. (dpa)