Syrian police 'gun down prisoners'

Syrian police shot dead dozens of inmates in a prison riot, a human rights group has claimed.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said military police opened fire on Islamist prisoners at the Sidnaya military jail near the capital Damascus.

The group said in a statement: "The number of the dead are in the tens.

"Prisoners have gone to the roof, fearing for their lives. Military police elements are still firing live bullets.

"The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights demands that President Bashar Assad intervenes immediately to stop this massacre."

There was no immediate word from Syrian authorities on the report.

Syria holds hundreds of Islamist militants and other political prisoners. International human rights groups often complain of random arrests and torture in Syrian jails.

© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.

Share this article

Send this article to a friend »

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Reddit
• Facebook
• StumbleUpon

What are these?