Brazil inmates take over jail

Brazilian police fired rubber bullets yesterday at inmates who have taken over a jail where dozens were massacred over the weekend in the latest in a string of prison riots.

Police positioned on top of the outer walls of the Alcacuz jail near the northeastern city of Natal fired at a crowd of inmates who had taken control of part of the complex. A total of 26 prisoners were killed in Alcacuz-many of them beheaded-during a violent riot that broke out late Saturday, according to officials. Police said they had stormed the prison and ended the violence on Sunday morning, but AFP reporters outside the prison said numerous prisoners were still loose within the complex. Dozens of them could be seen massed in the open air between the prison blocks and the outer walls of the complex, where they erected barriers of furniture.

Others stood with flags on the partiallydestroyed roof. The rubber bullets sent prisoners briefly fleeing to hide. It drew screams from a group of female relatives of prisoners who had gathered outside the prison walls.

Third jail bloodbath

The weekend bloodbath was the third mass-killing in Brazil’s overcrowded jails this month. Officials blame the wave of violence on a war between drug gangs whose members are settling scores in the country’s overcrowded jails. Gruesome violence at a prison in the northwestern city of Manaus killed about 60 inmates on January 1. Many were beheaded and mutilated. A further 33 died in a riot in Roraima state on January 6. In total, 134 people have been killed in prison violence this year, Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper said, citing justice ministry figures. Rights watchdog Amnesty International called for an independent inquiry into the killings. — AFP