27 killed in gunfight in Sri Lanka's biggest prison November 10, 2012 - 09:35 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - At least 27 people were killed and a senior police officer seriously wounded in a gunfight in Sri Lanka's biggest prison that began when police came under fire from inmates, officials and police said on Saturday, Nov 10, according to Reuters. The army brought the violence under control before dawn and freed staff held hostage at the Welikada prison in the capital Colombo, jail officials and military said. Twenty seven people have been confirmed dead, prisons minister Chandrasiri Gajadeera told parliament. The violence erupted when officers from the Special Task Force (STF), Sri Lanka's elite police commandoes, were searching the jail for drugs and illegal mobile phones. Witnesses said they saw police shooting towards the jail, where armed prisoners were on the roof during the clash. The jail has about 4,500 inmates, including members of the former defeated Tamil rebels from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) movement that fought a protracted war of independence, ending in 2009, but officials said it was unclear how many, if any, of them had been involved in the uprising. The officials are taking the count of inmates to find out how many escaped.   Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads.   Partner news |  Latest news Armenia-Azerbaijan: Experts launch work on determining coordinates  Expert groups from the countries started the process of determining the coordinates based on geodetic measurements.Yerevan says did not expect CSTO in peacekeeping role Pashinyan has declared that the CSTO would be expected to come to the Armenia-Azerbaijan border as an ally of ArmeniaHenrikh Mkhitaryan wins Serie A title with Inter Inter Milan midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan admits that the team have long been imagining clinching Serie A against AC Milan.Armenia not going to war over Karabakh, says Pashinyan Armenia is not preparing to fight a war for Nagorno Karabakh, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview. |
