Clashes in Sri Lankan prison leave 26 dead and dozens injured

The unrest at the prison in Negombo started between inmates on Sunday

A relative of an inmate breaks down outside a prison where deadly clashes broke out (AP)

The death toll in Sri Lanka’s prison clash rose to 26 on Tuesday, with authorities alleging the skirmish was linked to narcotic drugs and gang rivalries.

But prison welfare groups said overcrowding and poor conditions had much to do with it, too.

The unrest at the prison in Negombo, about 35 kilometres (22 miles) north of the capital, Colombo, started between inmates on Sunday and turned violent on Monday after the inmates attacked the guards who intervened.

Officials said the inmates even tried to break through the main gate, but were stopped.

Seven prison officials and 19 inmates have died, said officials.

A further 77 people — 23 prison officials and 54 inmates — are still being treated in hospitals.

On Tuesday, justice minister Harshana Nanayakkara told parliament that they believe the clash is linked to narcotic drugs and gang rivalries.

He said the clash erupted between two rival gangs connected to the illegal drug trade and the initial assault was launched on the inmates who acted as informants to the authorities and, thereafter, prison guards came under attack.

“Majority of the prison officials have died due to beatings by inmates,” said the minister.

“They (prison guards) have come under a merciless attack… even by bricks and clubs,” he said, adding that at that point, prison guards fired their weapons in order to control the situation and also for their own safety.

The minister did not specify the cause of the deaths and the nature of the injuries.

He said some firearms fell into the hands of the inmates, who used them to shoot at the guards.

“We will investigate as to how they got the weapons — whether they got it from the armoury or grabbed from the guards.” He said during the clashes, a small group of organised inmates also destroyed the CCTV cameras and as well as a body scanner, in a move seen as an effort to disrupt the mechanism that blocks narcotics and other contraband from coming inside the prison.

Mr Nanayakkara said some 734 inmates who were involved in the violence were transferred to other prisons.

He said a committee led by a retired judge is being set up, in addition to the police probe and an internal investigation by the prison department.

The investigations will look into what led to the clashes, “whether there were any security lapses or the congestion in the prisons caused this, and our responsibility is to prevent such incidents happening again.” On Tuesday, local television channel Hiru showed hundreds of relatives gathered outside the prison and hospital, seeking information about their loved ones.

The relatives were crying and pleading for information.

Security around the prison has been heightened with additional army troops and armed tanks also being deployed.

Sri Lankan prisons are highly congested, with more than 39,000 inmates crowded into a system with a total capacity of just 10,000.

Senaka Perera, president of the Committee for Rights of Prisoners, said overcrowded prison facilities and a lack of inmate welfare have kept prisoners in constant agitation and any issue can trigger a massive reaction.

The Negombo prison had a capacity of 650 but there were 2,600 prisoners at the time the clashes broke out, he said.

“There are drug-related disputes inside the prisons but the government is trying to portray it as the only cause for the violence, using the public sentiment against narcotics,” he said, adding that inmates have been complaining of increasing numbers of prisoners with dengue fever with minimal care being given to them.

The government not being transparent with what happened and a lack of information to the relatives have also caused disturbances, he said.