Extremist prisoners take guards hostage in Mauritania
Wardens used tear gas and truncheons to quell the rebellion
NOUAKCHOTT (AFP) - A group of Islamist death row inmates took two guards hostage Friday as a riot escalated in a jail in the Mauritanian capital.
The prisoners at Nouakchott s central prison started fires during violent clashes with wardens before seizing the officials, security sources told AFP.
"Extremists set fire to materials in the part of the prison they occupy. They are holding two guards hostage and they are threatening to kill them if the authorities opt to use force," the source said.
It is not known how large the group is but prison sources said it includes more than a dozen inmates sentenced to death or life sentences who are protesting against the refusal of the authorities to release companions who have completed their jail terms.
The group began a hunger strike several days ago and family members are staging a sit-in outside the jail, the source said.
Wardens used tear gas and truncheons to quell the rebellion, but the hostage situation was ongoing.
Authorities did not say what crimes the inmates had committed.
