Prisoners start second fire to protest deaths of 13 inmates

Inmates started another fire at a prison in south-east Turkey where 13 inmates were killed in a blaze at the weekend, officials…

Inmates started another fire at a prison in south-east Turkey where 13 inmates were killed in a blaze at the weekend, officials and Turkish media reported.

Nobody died in yesterday’s blaze at the facility in the province of Sanliurfa, bordering Syria, the local governor said.

The fire was brought under control after around an hour.

On Saturday night, prisoners set fire to their bedding in a dispute linked to poor conditions at the jail, leading to the deaths of 13 people.

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As the fire raged yesterday, ambulances ferried casualties from the jail and fire engines shot jets of water over the prison walls to fight the blaze, live television footage showed.

Thick black smoke rose from the prison buildings. It was not immediately clear how many had been injured.

Turkish media reported that inmates had started the fire to protest the deaths of their fellow prisoners and at overcrowding in the prison.

Anti-government chants rang out from within the prison, where more than a 1,000 inmates are held in a jail with capacity for around 300 people.

Outside the prison, riot police fired tear gas and water cannons to try to quell an angry crowd of inmates’ relatives. – (Reuters)