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| Upper Egypt prison shaken by riot | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A prisoner has been killed and several prison guards and other inmates wounded in an outbreak of shooting at a prison in Upper Egypt, reports say. | A prisoner has been killed and several prison guards and other inmates wounded in an outbreak of shooting at a prison in Upper Egypt, reports say. |
| The incident happened in the city of Assiut, about 250 miles (400km) south of the capital Cairo. | The incident happened in the city of Assiut, about 250 miles (400km) south of the capital Cairo. |
| The violence is said to have happened during visiting time for relatives of the prisoners. | The violence is said to have happened during visiting time for relatives of the prisoners. |
| A police source quoted by Reuters said a group of gunmen attacked the jail in an attempt to free prisoners. | |
| The police sources said arms had been smuggled into the prison and some of the shooting took place inside the building. | The police sources said arms had been smuggled into the prison and some of the shooting took place inside the building. |
| But another security official, quoted by AFP, said a riot was sparked by the suspicious death of a prisoner. | |
| Inmate Hani Ghandour, who was serving a seven-year sentence for assault, was found dead in solitary confinement, the official said. | |
| A rumour spread among the jail's 3,000 prisoners that he had been tortured to death and they revolted, grabbing firearms from the warders, according to one report. | |
| Riot police were sent to the area and the main road along the bank of the Nile was closed, they added. | Riot police were sent to the area and the main road along the bank of the Nile was closed, they added. |
| There has been no official statement about the violence, but the interior ministry said it would issue one later in the afternoon. | There has been no official statement about the violence, but the interior ministry said it would issue one later in the afternoon. |
| Assiut is the largest city in Upper Egypt, with a population of about 400,000 people. | |
| Correspondents say conditions in Egyptian prisons are often dire and overcrowded, and security personnel have been accused of abusing inmates. |