http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4751572.stm
Afghan prisoners seize jail wing


The army deployed rapid-reaction forces and armoured vehicles

Inmates have taken control of a wing of Afghanistan's main high-security jail, Pul-e-Charkhi in Kabul, officials say.

Sources have told the BBC four inmates have been killed, although top Afghan officials have denied any deaths.

The violence apparently began as an escape attempt in a section holding Taleban and al-Qaeda militants as well as ordinary criminals.

Hundreds of prisoners are barricaded inside a women's wing of the jail, parts of which are on fire.

Some have tried to escape by climbing the walls.

A senior official told the BBC that two female prison guards had been taken hostage by prisoners.

Afghan army rapid-reaction troops have entered the prison - reinforcing Interior Ministry security forces, who were already on the scene - and are trying to bring the situation under control, Gen Zaher Azimi told the BBC's Bilal Sarwary in Kabul.

There has been ongoing gunfire at the scene.

Police have sealed off the affected wing and no-one has escaped, jail officials say.

An official told the BBC that Taleban and al-Qaeda elements were responsible for the violence.

Pul-e-Charkhi prison near Kabul

Pul-e-Charkhi is a huge prison complex built in the 1970s

"It's the work of al-Qaeda and Taleban. By making things violent, they want to escape the prison. So far no-one has succeeded doing this," Gen Salam Bakhshi, director of Afghan prisons, told the BBC.

Trouble apparently started at about 2200 (1730 GMT) on Saturday in Block 2 - which houses 1,300 inmates - after a change in prison uniform rules.

Pul-e-Charkhi is a huge prison complex built in the 1970s on the outskirts of the capital.

Last month, seven Taleban suspects escaped from the jail, with prison guards accused by officials of helping the break-out.

Correspondents say the vast and run-down jail is notorious for the disappearance and torture of thousands of Afghans during the communist era.

Four men described as "dangerous militants" escaped from US custody at the Bagram air base near Kabul last year.

Rioting Resumes at Afghan Prison ABC News
Police Fire at Inmates Trying to Push Down Gate at Kabul's Main Jail As About 2,000 Prisoners Resume Rioting. Police fired at inmates trying to push down a gate at Kabul's main jail as about 2,000 prisoners resumed rioting Tuesday after a 24-hour pause in violence. One inmate died and three were wounded in the renewed fighting, police said. The clashes restarted after negotiations broke down, said Abdul Halik, a police commander in the prison. He said authorities had urged the prisoners to move into a different wing of the jail but the inmates refused. "The prisoners have tried to break down the door to their block and the police opened fire," Halik said. It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties. He said the prisoners then retreated inside the building. Even if the prisoners had managed to flee their block, they would still have been inside the prison compound and a tall wall would have prevented them from escaping outside. A purported spokesman for the prisoners, who identified himself only by the name Maqsodi, told The Associated Press by mobile phone from inside the jail that the prisoners refused to move because living conditions were no better in the new block. Policharki Prison was built in the 1970s and is notorious for harsh and crowded conditions. Violence erupted late Saturday after prisoners refused to put on new uniforms, delivered in response to a breakout last month by seven Taliban prisoners who had disguised themselves as visitors. On Monday, a government negotiator said on Monday that four inmates had died and 38 were wounded in the standoff. That toll did not include the latest casualties reported by police.
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