Sri Lanka orders investigation into prison riot that killed 27
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Colombo: Sri Lanka has opened a criminal inquiry and created a government panel to investigate the country's deadliest jail riot in years, as the death toll reached 27. Violence erupted at Negombo Prison following clashes between rival drug gangs, injuring over 100 people.
According to authorities, inmates overcame jail guards, seizing their firearms and started fire inside the overcrowded facility. Seven prison officers were among those murdered, while dozens of convicts and officers are still hospitalised with gunshot wounds and other injuries. As security escalated, officials began transporting convicts to other prisons.
Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara informed Parliament that both a criminal probe and an independent government inquiry are underway. The incident has raised more worries about Sri Lanka's highly overcrowded jail system, with prisons reportedly running at roughly four times their intended capacity.
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