|
|
| El Salvador prison battle kills 31 inmates |
| By Reuters |
| Published: 08/23/2004 |
|
Rival groups of inmates battled with guns, grenades and machetes at a prison in El Salvador last Wednesday, killing at least 31 prisoners. Officials said the bloodshed at the notoriously violent and overcrowded La Esperanza prison on the outskirts of the capital San Salvador began when members of the "Mara 18" street gang clashed with other inmates. "There were fights between them and they threw about six grenades," said Bonifacio de Leon, who heads the state prosecutors' office in the area. El Salvador's security ministry said 31 inmates were killed and 29 injured. Gunshots were also fired and several of the dead had machete wounds, de Leon said. Officials said they did not know how prisoners obtained the weapons and were still investigating the cause of several explosions. By midday, prison officers and riot police had brought the violence under control and federal officials promised to move the gang members to a different prison last Thursday, a demand made by other inmates during negotiations to end the fighting. "The priority at this moment is to save lives and avoid the deaths of other inmates in this uprising," deputy security minister Rodrigo Avila told a news conference. He said police planned to search the prison for weapons later. Federal officials declared a state of emergency at the facility. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think