One inmate killed in Sri Lanka riot

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COLOMBO:

At least one inmate was killed and another six were taken to hospital after a riot at a prison outside Sri Lanka's capital on Saturday, police said.

The violence at the Mahara Prison outside Colombo came about a month after clashes at another overcrowded jail killed 10 guards and 21 inmates in Sri Lanka's worst prison riot in years.

Additional police units were sent to guard the high-security Mahara Prison after rioting broke out on Saturday morning, police said.

"We sent STF (Special Task Force) commandos to guard the perimeter, but we are not deployed inside," a police official said. The official said seven wounded prisoners were removed from the jail but one had died.

An AFP photographer outside the prison saw two truckloads of soldiers also being deployed along with the police commandos.