A hunger strike protest by Taliban and al-Qaeda prisoners at the US base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, continued
overnight.
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Prisoners kneel, shackled and hooded, in Guantanamo Bay
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The number of prisoners detained refusing meals had dropped to 88, however, said an army spokesman, down from 194 earlier in the day.
The protest was sparked by a soldier removing a turban-like head dress from a prisoner who apparently refused to answer the guard. Officials later said the man did not respond because he had been praying.
The hunger strike began on Wednesday at the prisoners' noon meal, growing in numbers at dinner that evening and at breakfast yesterday, said a Marine Corps.
The protest coincided with the findings of a British parliamentary committee yesterday, which accused the British and US governments of having overlooked the importance of human rights in treating the prisoners.
The two allies may have allowed human rights concerns to "slip down their list of priorities" in an eagerness to build the post-September 11th coalition against terror, the British foreign affairs committee said.