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Upper Egypt prison shaken by riot Upper Egypt prison shaken by riot
(about 6 hours 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 died and more than 20 people, mostly inmates, have been injured during unrest at a jail in the Upper Egyptian city of Assiut.
The incident happened in the city of Assiut, about 250 miles (400km) south of the capital Cairo. Officials said the clashes followed rumours about an inmate's death. Some prisoners rioted and took officers hostage and seized guns.
The violence is said to have happened during visiting time for relatives of the prisoners. The violence continued for several hours. Police used tear gas and live bullets to regain control of the jail.
A police source quoted by Reuters said a group of gunmen attacked the jail in an attempt to free prisoners. Earlier unconfirmed reports had said unknown gunmen had attacked the prison.
The police sources said arms had been smuggled into the prison and some of the shooting took place inside the building. Four warders and at least 20 prisoners were said to have been injured in the clashes.
But another security official, quoted by AFP, said a riot was sparked by the suspicious death of a prisoner. An Interior Ministry statement quoted by the Reuters news agency said the riot occurred when fighting broke out between four prisoners who attacked each other with cutlery.
Inmate Hani Ghandour, who was serving a seven-year sentence for assault, was found dead in solitary confinement, the official said. Police intervened and punished the inmates with 48 hours in solitary confinement, the statement 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. Inmate Ali Abdel Salam died during his solitary confinement, after which "a rumour spread among the prisoners he had died because an officer assaulted him", the statement said.
Riot police were sent to the area and the main road along the bank of the Nile was closed, they added. Conflicting reports
There has been no official statement about the violence, but the interior ministry said it would issue one later in the afternoon. However, there is some confusion about the identity of the dead inmate. Another report named him as Hani Ghandour, who was serving a seven-year sentence for assault.
Assiut is the largest city in Upper Egypt, with a population of about 400,000 people. Another report said Ghandour was killed during armed clashes after a group of 15 gunmen had stormed the building in an attempt to free prisoners.
There is no explanation for the discrepancies in the dead man's name or the reason which lay behind the violence.
Assiut - about 250 miles (400km) south of Cairo - is the largest city in Upper Egypt, with a population of about 400,000 people. Its jail is reported to hold about 3,000 prisoners.
Correspondents say conditions in Egyptian prisons are often dire and overcrowded, and security personnel have been accused of abusing inmates.Correspondents say conditions in Egyptian prisons are often dire and overcrowded, and security personnel have been accused of abusing inmates.