Death Toll Rises to 26 as Violent Clashes Rock Sri Lanka's Negombo Prison, 77 Injured

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: The death toll in Sri Lanka’s prison clash rose Tuesday to 26 — seven prison officials and 19 inmates — with authorities alleging the skirmish was linked to narcotic drugs and gang rivalries but prison welfare groups saying overcrowding and poor conditions had much to do with it, too.

The unrest at the prison in Negombo, about 35 kilometers (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.

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. They (prison guards) have come under a merciless attack ... even by bricks and clubs,” said the minister, 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 armory or grabbed from the guards.”

He said during the clashes, a small group of organized 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.

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

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