A riot at Negombo prison in Sri Lanka has left 26 people dead, including seven guards, and wounded more than 100 others in the country's deadliest prison violence in years. The clashes erupted overnight between inmates from two drug gangs, according to police.
Casualties and Response
Victims with cuts and gunshot injuries were rushed to Negombo hospital, north of the capital Colombo. Hospital director Pushpa Gamlath reported 23 bodies at the state-run facility, along with over 100 wounded prisoners and guards. “There are some victims with gunshot injuries, some with cuts and severe bruises,” Gamlath told Agence France-Presse. “We transferred 18 of the more seriously wounded to the Colombo National hospital.” Justice minister Harshana Nanayakkara later confirmed three additional deaths, raising the toll to 26.
Official Reactions
Nanayakkara expressed “profound shock and grief” and stated that authorities were working to separate the rival gangs. “Whether they were inmates, or associated with the underworld, is not relevant to us at this moment,” he told reporters. “Human beings have died, and there is a deep shock regarding that. This is something that should never have occurred.” He said fighting began on Sunday evening at the prison, which holds several thousand detainees. As reports spread, female inmates in an adjoining section climbed onto a roof and demanded release; police said part of the roof collapsed, injuring some women.
Investigation and Security Measures
The government announced a three-member investigation team headed by a retired supreme court justice. Prison spokesperson Chaminda Gajanayake said no foreign prisoners were affected, possibly referring to a 22-year-old British woman held at Negombo since May last year for possessing 46kg of kush cannabis. Large crowds of relatives gathered outside the prison on Monday, as the air force deployed drones and a helicopter to monitor the area. Residents reported hearing gunshots, and it was said that prisoners had seized several guns from guards earlier in the day. A police official told AFP that seven guards were killed while trying to break up the rioting: “The situation got out of hand this morning.”
Context and Overcrowding
In December 2020, rioting at another Sri Lankan prison killed 11 prisoners and wounded 117 during the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to the release of hundreds of inmates. Official data shows prisons across Sri Lanka held 41,250 prisoners as of Sunday, about four times their capacity.
