Sri Lanka deploys troops to contain growing prison unrest

We show you our most important and recent visitors news details Sri Lanka deploys troops to contain growing prison unrest in the following article

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - COLOMBO — Sri Lanka deployed troops to its main maximum-security prison in Colombo and two other jails on Friday, following unsuccessful breakout attempts in which three inmates were killed and 23 wounded, a government minister said.

Advertisements

Authorities suspect possible sabotage and a wider conspiracy as a series of disturbances across several prisons in the country appeared to have been coordinated.

Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told Parliament that unrest had recently been reported at the Negombo, Mahara, Magazine, Kuruwita and Pallansena prisons.

“When all these incidents are considered together, they appear to be organized acts of sabotage and part of a conspiracy,” Wijepala said, adding that preliminary investigations indicated the immediate triggers were linked to narcotics and underworld activities.

"We see a pattern in these incidents and suspect a conspiracy," Wijepala told parliament, without giving further details.

Wijepala said an inmate was killed and 10 others wounded after guards thwarted an attempt by about 40 convicts to escape from Colombo's maximum-security Welikada Prison on Thursday night.

Sri Lankan jails have been hit by a spate of unrest in recent weeks, with 10 guards and 23 inmates killed in two separate riots at two other prisons outside Colombo since last month.

Officials have attributed the growing unrest to acute overcrowding. Sri Lanka's prisons hold about four times their intended capacity.

Wijepala told parliament that the situation at the Welikada jail had been brought under control, but similar unrest was reported at another prison in Kuruwita, about 80 kilometers southeast of Colombo.

Two inmates were killed and another 13 wounded at Kuruwita, he said.

"Security forces have been deployed at that prison too and order has been restored," Wijepala said.

Unrest was also reported at a prison in Pallansena, north of Colombo, where 30 inmates climbed onto the roof and refused to return to their cells after breakfast on Friday.

Authorities announced plans last month to convert disused state buildings into prisons, but new facilities have yet to be added.

More than three-quarters of inmates in Sri Lanka are remand prisoners awaiting trial, with most being held in connection with drug offenses.

These were the details of the news Sri Lanka deploys troops to contain growing prison unrest for this day. We hope that we have succeeded by giving you the full details and information. To follow all our news, you can subscribe to the alerts system or to one of our different systems to provide you with all that is new.

It is also worth noting that the original news has been published and is available at Saudi Gazette and the editorial team at AlKhaleej Today has confirmed it and it has been modified, and it may have been completely transferred or quoted from it and you can read and follow this news from its main source.

PREV Flavio Bolsonaro vows to lead Brazil opposition from Florida exile as Lula dismisses his departure as ‘shameful’
NEXT Burnham breaks Brexit taboo with talk of EU return, Macron urges Britain to ‘come back’

Author Information

I am Jeff King and I’m passionate about business and finance news with over 4 years in the industry starting as a writer working my way up into senior positions. I am the driving force behind Al-KhaleejToday.NET with a vision to broaden the company’s readership throughout 2016. I am an editor and reporter of “Financial” category. Address: 383 576 Gladwell Street Longview, TX 75604, USA Phone: (+1) 903-247-0907 Email: [email protected]