AfghanistanAsia-Pacific

Prison riot leaves three dead in northern Afghanistan

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A riot has broken out inside a prison in Afghanistan’s northern Jowzjan Province, resulting in the killing of two police officers and one inmate.

Inmates at the overcrowded prison in the town of Shibirghan, including pro-Taliban militants and regular criminals, overpowered the guards at the facility as they were conducting a routine security check, taking three of them hostage on Sunday.

The prisoners later killed two of the guards, cutting their bodies into pieces, and set the third guard on fire. He is now in hospital suffering from serious burns. Five more guards were wounded when they tried to save their colleagues.

The prisoners then staged a futile attempt to escape from the prison compound. One prisoner was killed and fifteen others were wounded in the botched escape attempt.

Prison officials say the situation is now stable following the intervention of town elders to calm the prisoners. However, they say the inmates have gone on a hunger strike.

There are 800 prisoners in the prison of the town of Shibirghan, the provincial capital of Jowzjan. Inmates at the prison are from both Jowzjan and neighboring Sari Pul provinces.

Nearly fourteen years have passed since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. However, the war-torn country remains in dire straits in all economic, cultural, political and security aspects.

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