Tripoli, 12 August:
It now seems that a fire, possibly started deliberately, was the trigger for the Fornaj prison riot on Friday, . . .[restrict]in which eight detainees escaped.
Ministry of Interior Undersecretary, Omar Hussain Khadrawi today told the National General Congress, that after the blaze broke out, warders had to evacuate inmates from their cells to a prison yard. Kahdrawi added that some prisoners took advantage of the stampede to escape the building, and set about breaking out of the prison itself.
In all, he said, 26 prisoners managed to breach the security barriers. Some of them hid in areas around the prison, where they were discovered by police and security forces. However eight prisoners evaded capture and are still at large.
Khadrawi told legislators that an enquiry into the incident was now under way.
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