Al-Qaida inmates riot in high-security Afghan prison

HUNDREDS of inmates, including convicted al-Qaida and Taliban militants, overpowered guards and took control of parts of a high-security prison in Afghanistan’s capital, officials said yesterday.

Police and soldiers surrounded the Policharki Prison as government officials tried to negotiate through loudspeakers with the inmates. Their demands were not known.

Deputy justice minister Mohammed Qasim Hashimzai reported some initial progress in talks, but there was periodic gunfire with prisoners shouting “God is Great!”

Inmates agreed to move 70 female prisoners from a wing under their control to a wing under official control, Mr Hashimzai said.

The rioting started on Saturday when prisoners refused to put on new uniforms, delivered in response to a breakout last month by seven Taliban inmates disguised as visitors.

Prisoners forced guards out of a cell block housing about 1,300 inmates, said Abdul Salaam Bakshi, chief of prisons in Afghanistan. He accused al-Qaida and Taliban inmates of inciting other prisoners.

One hundred Afghan soldiers and NATO peacekeepers surrounded the prison. Tanks and armoured personnel carriers were parked outside the gates. One soldier said they were firing rubber bullets, not live ammunition.

Mr Bakshi said: “All the problem is inside the prison. We want to peacefully solve this problem.”

Mr Hashimzai said at least four inmates were injured in the riot on Saturday night but prisoners refused an offer for them to be treated. No guards were hurt.

Mr Bakshi said inmates attacked guards and tried to force their way out of their prison block but were stopped. He said inmates had knives and clubs fashioned from wrecked furniture and set fire to bedding.

The prison - which has seen riots before - holds 2,000 inmates, including some 350 al-Qaida and Taliban militants.

Mr Hashimzai said about 100 inmates took control of the women’s wing.

A justice ministry delegation visited the prison on the outskirts of Kabul yesterday to negotiate with the prisoners.

Mr Hashimzai said: “They have demands, we are going to listen to what they want. If we cannot solve it through negotiations, we have our own options.”

He refused to say whether he was referring to the use of force.