Deadly Riot at Sri Lanka Prison Leaves 26 Dead and Over 100 Injured
Clashes at a prison in Sri Lanka have resulted in the deaths of 26 individuals, including seven prison guards, and left more than 100 others wounded. Officials have described this as the deadliest prison riot in the country in recent years.
The violence erupted overnight between inmates affiliated with two rival drug gangs. Victims suffering from cuts and gunshot wounds were transported to Negombo hospital, located north of Colombo, the capital city, according to police reports on Monday.
Pushpa Gamlath, the hospital director, stated that the state-run facility had received 23 bodies along with over 100 injured prisoners and guards from Negombo Prison.
“There are some victims with gunshot injuries, some with cuts and severe bruises,”
Gamlath told Agence France-Presse by telephone.“We transferred 18 of the more seriously wounded to the Colombo National hospital.”
Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara later confirmed that three additional deaths had occurred, bringing the total fatalities to 26. He expressed deep sorrow and emphasized that authorities are actively working to separate the rival gangs within the prison.
“Whether they were inmates, or associated with the underworld, is not relevant to us at this moment,”
Nanayakkara told reporters.
“Human beings have died, and there is a deep shock regarding that. This is something that should never have occurred.”
The minister indicated that the fighting began on Sunday evening at the facility, which houses several thousand detainees. As news of the conflict spread, female inmates in an adjacent section climbed onto the roof and demanded their release. Police reported that part of the roof collapsed during this incident, injuring some of the women.
The government has announced the formation of a three-member investigative team, led by a retired Supreme Court justice, to examine the circumstances surrounding the riot.
Prison spokesperson Chaminda Gajanayake clarified that no foreign prisoners were affected by the violence, possibly referencing a foreign national held at Negombo since her arrest in May of the previous year at the international airport with 46 kilograms of kush, a highly potent form of cannabis.
Large crowds of relatives of prisoners gathered outside Negombo on Monday as the Air Force deployed drones and a helicopter to monitor the area. Local residents reported hearing gunshots, and it was noted that prisoners had seized several firearms from guards earlier in the day.
A police official told AFP that seven guards were killed while attempting to quell the riot on Monday morning.
“The situation got out of hand this morning,”
he said.
In December 2020, a prison riot killed 11 inmates and injured 117 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting the government to release hundreds of prisoners to alleviate overcrowding.
Official data indicates that as of Sunday, Sri Lankan prisons held 41,250 inmates, approximately four times their intended capacity.
