Middle East News
Syria belatedly reports on prison riot
Jul 6, 2008, 12:20 GMT
Damascus - Syrian authorities admitted for the first time Sunday that a prison riot took place the day before, saying extra forces had to be called in to restore order.
Inmates convicted of 'crimes of extremism and terror' were behind the riot in Sidnaya prison north of Damascus, which erupted at 7 am during an inspection tour, the state news agency SANA said.
A law and order unit intervened to quell the riot and find out who was responsible for 'assaulting others and damaging public property' in order to take legal action against the offenders, SANA said.
It made no mention of casualties, but on Saturday, the London- based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights said scores of prisoners were killed when military police opened fire to end the disturbance.
The group said on its website the unrest involved Islamist prisoners and was still going on Sunday.
Prisoners have been mistreated and some of them have been in jail without a trial, the group said in a statement.
COMMENT
blog comments powered by DisqusLatest Headlines in Middle East
- 1. Jerusalem prelate tells Arab Spring youth to have confidence
- 2. More than 100 killed in Syria ahead of ceasefire deadline
- 3. At least 43 killed in Syria, despite UN criticism
- 4. 19 killed in Syria as ceasefire deadline approaches
- 5. Pilgrims flock to Jerusalem for Easter, Passover
Older Talkback
