Guantanamo suicides trigger more condemnation

Three Guantanamo Bay detainees hanged themselves yesterday using nooses made of sheets and clothes, the commander of the detention centre said, in the first reported deaths among hundreds of men held at the base.

The apparent suicides, by two Saudis and one Yemeni, triggered further condemnation yesterday of the isolated detention centre at the US military base in south-east Cuba, which holds some 460 men on suspicion of links to al-Qaida and the Taliban. Detainees have been held for up to 4 1/2 years, while only 10 have been formally charged.