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Thursday September 10, 2026
Today's Paper

Sri Lanka deploys troops to contain growing prison unrest

World
By AFP
August 08, 2026
Sri Lanka Army soldiers take up positions outside Sri Lanka’s main Welikada Prison in the capital Colombo on August 7, 2026, following reports that some prisoners were staging a protest inside. —AFP
Sri Lanka Army soldiers take up positions outside Sri Lanka’s main Welikada Prison in the capital Colombo on August 7, 2026, following reports that some prisoners were staging a protest inside. —AFP

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka deployed troops to its main maximum-security prison in Colombo and two other jails on Friday, following unsuccessful breakout attempts in which three inmates were killed and 23 wounded, a government minister said.

Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala said an inmate was killed and 10 others wounded after guards thwarted an attempt by about 40 convicts to escape from Colombo´s maximum-security Welikada Prison on Thursday night.

Sri Lankan jails have been hit by a spate of unrest in recent weeks, with 10 guards and 23 inmates killed in two separate riots at two other prisons outside Colombo since last month.