At least 25 people were killed and around 100 others were injured after clashes broke out between two groups of prisoners at a jail in Sri Lanka on Monday. This was the country’s deadliest prison riot in more than five years, according to media reports.
Those injured were taken to Negombo Hospital, north of Colombo, after overnight fighting between inmates linked to two rival drug gangs at the area’s main prison, police told news agency AFP.
Clashes at Sri Lanka prison
The prison clash claimed at least 25 lives and left about 100 people injured, news agency Reuters reported, quoting two police sources and a hospital official.
The unrest began on Sunday at the prison in the coastal town of Negombo when convicted prisoners clashed with inmates who were being held on remand, the report said.
As the violence spread through the prison, women inmates who were in a neighbouring section climbed onto the roof of their building and demanded to be released on Sunday night. Police said a section of the roof later collapsed, leaving several women injured.
Police commandos were sent to the prison on Monday but were not deployed inside the facility. Meanwhile, large numbers of relatives gathered outside as the Sri Lankan Air Force used drones and a helicopter to monitor the situation.
“Military has been requested to provide support to the police but at the moment they are on standby,” Army spokesman Brigadier Waruna Gamage told Reuters.
Hospital director Pushpa Gamlath said prison guards were among those admitted for treatment, along with the injured inmates. “There are some victims with gunshot injuries, some with cuts and severe bruises,” she told AFP.
A police official told the news agency: “Four guards were killed when they tried to break up the rioting. The situation got out of hand this morning.”
Notably, Sri Lanka’s prisons remain severely overcrowded, with more than 39,000 inmates housed in facilities built to accommodate only about 10,000 people, according to an AP report.
2020 riots at Sri Lanka prison
Sri Lanka last witnessed a major prison riot in December 2020, when violence at another jail left 11 inmates dead and 117 others injured during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The incident led the government to release hundreds of prisoners to ease overcrowding.
Official figures showed that prisons across Sri Lanka were holding 41,250 inmates as of Sunday, nearly four times the system’s intended capacity.
With inputs from agencies
