A shootout between inmates at Honduras' biggest prison left at
least 13 inmates dead and another 30 wounded Thursday, officials
said.
The confrontation began at the National Penitentiary on the
outskirts of Tegucigalpa, the capital. Honduran Security Minister
Armando Calidonio said police and guards were working to restore
control.
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"The confrontation was between two rival groups of prisoners who
fired shots at each other in a territorial dispute," Calidonio told
The Associated Press.
He said officials were investigating how inmates had guns in the
National Penitentiary.
Honduras' overcrowded, aging prisons have frequently been the
scene of riots and fights between inmates — especially members of
rival street gangs.
Nearly 600 prisoners rioted at the same facility in 2004 to
protest the transfer of four of their leaders to another facility.
No injuries were reported in that incident.
In 2004, a fire broke out in a cell block housing 182 gang
inmates, killing more than 100 inmates.
Firefighters said the flames were sparked by overheated
electrical cables from the more than 75 domestic appliances the
prisoners had been using.
Survivors of the fire claimed it was set deliberately by rival
gang members.
(Chinadaily.com via agencies January 6, 2006)
