By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-08-07 05:11:55 | Updated at 2026-08-07 05:59:51
54 minutes ago
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka deployed heavily armed troops to its main maximum-security prison on Aug 7 following an unsuccessful breakout attempt by inmates, officials said.
Hundreds of soldiers and police commandos guarded the perimeter of Welikada Prison after unrest that began on the night of Aug 6. Prison officials said nine inmates had been injured.
Dozens of convicts broke out of their cells and climbed onto the roof of a prison building around midnight, sparking clashes with guards.
A prison official said the situation had been brought under control, but similar unrest was reported at another prison in Kuruwita, about 80km south-east of Colombo.
Four inmates at Kuruwita were injured in the clashes, officials said.
Since July, 10 guards and 23 inmates have been killed in two separate riots at two other prisons outside Colombo.
Officials have attributed the growing unrest to overcrowding. Sri Lanka’s prisons hold about four times their intended capacity.
In July, the authorities announced plans to convert disused state buildings into prisons, but new facilities are yet to be added.
More than three-quarters of inmates in Sri Lanka are remand prisoners awaiting trial, and most are being held in connection with drug offences. AFP
