Sri Lanka deploys troops to contain deadly riot at overcrowded Mahara Prison

The latest unrest comes almost a month after another prison riot in the same region, in which 10 guards and 21 inmates were killed

Deputy police inspector-general Sanjeewa Medawatte said the situation was under control after inmates destroyed multiple buildings on Saturday inside Mahara Prison, just outside the capital Colombo.

“We got reinforcements from the armed forces and the Special Task Force commandos to restore order and send the inmates back to their cells,” Medawatte told reporters outside the prison.

In November 2020, a riot erupted at the facility in which 11 inmates were shot and killed, and nearly 120 others wounded.

The latest unrest came almost a month after another prison riot in the same region, in which 10 guards and 21 inmates were killed.