Indonesian police surround Bali prison after riot
Associated Press, Bali | Thu, 02/23/2012 11:50 AM
Extra security: Members of Indonesian military forces guard near Kerobokan prison in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, on Thursday. Indonesian security forces stormed the resort island prison where inmates were rioting and restored order Wednesday after several hours of violence that injured a policeman and three inmates. (AP/Firdia Lisnawati)
Hundreds of security forces surrounded a prison on the resort island
of Bali on Thursday, firing warning shots and tear gas to quell inmates
after a second night of rioting.
Local police chief Beny Arjanto said were no immediate reports of injuries.
By late morning, the situation appeared tense but under control.
Prisoners at the Kerobokan jail - which houses drug
traffickers, pedophiles, murderers and petty criminals - were demanding
the release of three inmates detained after unrest initially flared
Wednesday.
They threw one Molotov cocktail and rocks at guards from inside their cells at around 11 p.m., Arjanto said.
Soldiers and police surrounding the facility, backed by water
canons and armored vehicles, responded with tear gas and shots in the
air, he said.
The prison with a capacity of about 300, now houses around
1,000 inmates, including dozens of forigners. Those include members of
an Australian drug smuggling ring who Australian media have dubbed the
"Bali Nine."