Colombo, January 24: At least 20 people were injured on Tuesday in a clash between guards and inmates in a Sri Lankan prison, officials said.
“There were 19 inmates and a jailor among those admitted to hospital”, a spokesman for the Colombo National Hospital said.
Inmates of the Magazine prison at Borella clashed with staff. As the clash developed into a riot the guards opened fire.
The rioting inmates had set fire to a building.
They were protesting against poor conditions in the prison.
In a similar riot two years ago, over 50 policemen were seriously injured when inmates attacked police who had entered the prison to seize mobile phones used by inmates.
–PTI