15 Apr 2013

Trouble at military prison

5:39 am on 15 April 2013

Guards at the American military prison at Guantanamo Bay have fired shots to control prisoners after trouble broke out because detainees were being moved into individual cells.

Officials at the prison said some inmates used improvised weapons to resist being moved on Saturday.

Tensions at the facility have increased since a result of a hunger strike began in February.

The Pentagon says 43 prisoners are on hunger strike, but lawyers for the detainees say the number is higher. Almost a dozen are being force-fed, according to military officials.

Lawyer Carlos Warner, who represents 11 prisoners there, said the detainees are becoming increasingly desperate.

The camp at the Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base in Cuba holds 166 men, most of them captured more than a decade ago in counter-terrorism operations.

The BBC says nearly 100 detainees have been reportedly cleared for release, but remain at the facility because of Congressional restrictions and also concerns of possible mistreatment if they are sent back to their home countries.