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| Sri Lanka | |
| Sri Lanka troops accused of jail ‘massacre’ | |
| 2012-11-12 | |
| COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s main opposition party Sunday demanded an independent inquiry into a prison riot that left 27 convicts dead, alleging many were shot by security forces in a cold-blooded “massacre.” The United National Party (UNP) called for a parliamentary investigation into the riot that erupted on Friday evening at the maximum-security Welikada prison in the capital Colombo. “This is nothing but a massacre,” UNP spokesman Mangala Samaraweera told AFP. “Most of the convicts appeared to have been killed in cold blood. We want a parliamentary select committee to go into this.” Troops were deployed to quell the riots and the military retained a heavy presence at the sprawling prison complex Sunday. During the riot, armed inmates climbed onto the roof and fired at troops and police. A handful escaped and hijacked a three-wheel rickshaw taxi which was stopped by heavy gunfire from security personnel. Prisons Minister Chandrasiri Gajadeera told parliament Saturday that 27 inmates were killed and 43 others — including 13 police commandos, four soldiers and two civilians — were injured. He said there would be an internal prisons department inquiry into the riot, which was sparked by a police commando raid for contraband inside the prison on Friday. The violence continued until early Saturday with some prisoners raiding a jail armory and grabbing about 80 weapons, including automatic rifles.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 They should've learned the lesson from Mario and his boys on how Sri Lankan troops deal with "troublemakers". |
| Posted by: tu3031 2012-11-12 22:46 |