British troops quell disturbance in Iraq prison

[maddezmom]

Source: Reuters

BASRA, Iraq, March 22 (Reuters) - British forces said on Thursday they used "minimum force" to quell a disturbance at a British-run prison in Iraq, after an Iraqi official said five inmates were wounded by plastic bullets.

Most of the detainees at the facility at Shuaiba logistics base near the southern city of Basra are suspected members of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia.

Hakim al-Mayahi, who heads the Basra provincial council's security committee, said inmates at the facility rioted in the early hours of Thursday morning in protest against their detention without trial, some for up to two years.

~snip~

British military spokesman Major David Gell said there had been a "minor disturbance" at the prison on Wednesday morning, not on Thursday, that had been quickly defused within an hour.

~snip~

Ten detainees escaped from the facility last week after swapping clothes and changing places with a group of men posing as visitors.



Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL227124.htm

[Javaman]

1. Yes, minor...

no one was killed move along citizen, nothing to see here.

[Eugene]

2. British troops fire plastic rounds in Iraqi prison

Source: Reuters

British troops fire plastic rounds in Iraqi prison
22 Mar 2007 16:13:36 GMT

BASRA, Iraq, March 22 (Reuters) - British soldiers fired plastic bullets
at inmates in a British-run prison in Iraq after several guards were
attacked while serving them food, a British military official said on
Thursday.

Most of the detainees at the facility at Shuaiba logistics base near
the southern city of Basra are suspected members of Shi'ite cleric
Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia.

British military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Kevin Stratford-Wright
said the prisoners were treated for cuts and bruises after Wednesday's
fracas, which he described as a minor disturbance, while two guards
suffered minor injuries.

-snip-

Hakim al-Mayahi, who heads the Basra provincial council's security
committee, said inmates rioted in protest against their detention
without trial, some for up to two years.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL257880.htm