Kabul jail overrun by 1,500 prisoners

Afghan, NATO and US forces with tanks surrounded the main high security prison in Kabul on Feb. 26 after it was taken over by more than 1,500 Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners during a violent riot. At least 30 prisoners were injured and unconfirmed reports said seven others were killed in fighting after inmates took two female prison guards hostage in protest at new regulations requiring them to wear uniforms. Bursts of gunfire could be heard throughout the day from Pulicharkhi prison after the Afghan police rapid reaction unit, armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers, entered the complex in an attempt to prevent a mass break-out. Prisoners were heard chanting "Allah ho Akhbar" in between the firing. Pulicharkhi, which holds around 2,000 prisoners, became notorious during Afghanistan's Communist era with allegations of torture and secret executions. About 110 detainees held by the US at Guantánamo Bay are expected to be transferred there later this year. The prisoners had allowed 70 women inmates to be moved to another part of the prison after storming into the female wing from their own. As night fell, negotiations announced by the Interior Ministry to end the stand-off were suspended. Security forces had yet to gain access to parts of the jail under the prisoners' control. "I have heard that prisoners have been injured. Taliban and al-Qaida members from different countries are behind this unrest," said the Deputy Justice Minister, Mohammad Qasim Hashimzai. "They still control the wing from where they had started the riot. They have demands; we are going to listen to what they want. If we cannot solve it through negotiations, we have our own options." The violence began after inmates were issued with uniforms. Until then, they were allowed to wear civilian clothing but the rules were changed after seven suspected Taliban prisoners escaped last month pretending to be departing visitors. Prison guards are believed to have assisted with the escape. General Mahboub Amiri, the chief of Kabul's rapid reaction police force, said Taliban members triggered the riot in an attempt to break out of the prison. "They started the trouble and then tried to use that as cover to get away," he said. "The injuries to prisoners happened while this was going on." Four policemen and four prisoners died in December 2004 during a day of confrontation at the prison when a group of alleged al-Qaida inmates attempted a break-out. On Feb. 26, hundreds of heavily armed police and troops backed by tanks and armored personnel carriers took position outside the jail. Security forces prevented journalists from approaching the building. Abdul Salaam Bakshi, the prison director, said the inmates had attacked guards and tried to force their way out of their prison block. They had been armed with knives and clubs fashioned from wrecked furniture, he said, and had set fire to bedding. "All the problem is inside the prison," said Bakshi. "We want to peacefully solve this problem."