8A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WORLD
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2006
Red Lyon Tavern
744 Mass.
832-8228
"hypnotic ... imaginative ... played with deep passion and expression."
Musaden Saden/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FREE Concert
Wednesday, March 1
7:30 p.m.
at the KU Edwards Campus,
Regnier Hall
KU Edward's Campus, Regnell Hall
12600 Kippon Road, Overland Park
2.5 miles south of I-435
the Oviva Dr. east
Afghan National Army soldiers stand as they wait for command near Policharki Prison in Kabul, Afghanistan on Sunday. Hundreds of inmates, including terrorism convicts, clashed with guards in a failed attempt to break out of a high-security prison in Kabul, then took control of parts of the prison, officials said Sunday.
KU LIEDED CENTER OF KANSAS
The University of Kansas
Jonathan and Jennifer Adams create a unique new sound—from finger-picking to flamenco—with the unusual pairing of cello and guitar.
Tickets: 785.864.2787 TDD: 785.864.2777
ticketmaster
(101) 639-3330
(101) 639-3330
WAR ON TERROR
Inmates seize Afghan prison
BY AMIR SHAH
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KABUL, Afghanistan—Hundreds of Afghan soldiers with tanks and grenade-launchers surrounded Kabul's main prison Sunday after rioting inmates seized control of much of the facility in an uprising that officials blamed on al-Qaida and Taliban militants.
Gunshots occasionally rang out as troops tried to keep the prisoners bottled up. Officials said the rioters did not have any firearms but had armed themselves with small knives and clubs fashioned from wrecked furniture.
Local media reported several people were killed and dozens injured. But it appeared security forces had yet to gain access to parts of the jail under prisoners' control, so officials could not confirm reports of casualties. One official said at least four inmates were injured.
Smoke could be seen curling out of some cell windows, where inmates apparently set fire to bedding and furniture.
Government negotiators late Sunday suspended talks to end the standoff at the notorious Policharki jail, which later this year is slated to receive dozens of Afghans currently in U.S. military's Guantanamo prison.
The riot broke out late Saturday in Block Two of the prison, which houses about 1,300 of the 2,000 inmates. Officials said the violence began when inmates refused to put on new uniforms, which were ordered after seven Taliban prisoners escaped last month by disguising themselves as visitors.
Officials said some 350 al-Qaida and Taliban loyalists were among the inmates in that block. Abdul Salaam Bakshi, chief of prisons in Afghanistan, accused them of inciting the other prisoners, mostly common criminals.
The Afghan army said it deployed 800 soldiers around the prison. Along with NATO peacekeepers, they parked at least 10 tanks and armored personnel carriers outside the gates.
He said no inmates escaped from the prison block but guards had been forced out.
"We have surrounded the jail. There's no way to escape," Mohammed Qasim Hashimzai,
He said about 100 of the rioters from Block Two had taken control of the neighboring wing of the jail housing about 70 women.
deputy justice minister, said.
Another senior government official, who would speak only on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said prisoners had dug a tunnel to the women's wing_ explaining how they had managed to infiltrate it.
Hashimzai said attempts to negotiate the release of the women from the rioters' control foundered because of disunity among the inmates and confusion over their various demands. Prisoners also backtracked on an agreement to hand over their injured to the International Red Cross, he said.
"Unfortunately, the prisoners have no unity and have different demands. There's no one leader who can talk to us." Hashimzai said as he left the prison around dusk, adding that officials would try to resume negotiations Monday.
He gave no details about the prisoners' demands.
"We are human beings!" he quoted inmates as shouting. Others could be heard bellowing "God is great!" between volleys of gunfire.
But Ezamary, an army battalion commander who like many Afghans uses only a single name, said inmates had dropped notes from the windows complaining about the justice system and prison conditions.
Policharki, which lies on the eastern outskirts of Kabul, was built in the 1970s and has earned notoriously for its harsh and crowded conditions.
Afghan officials say some 110 Afghan terrorism suspects are expected to be transferred there later this year from the prison at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Riots and breakouts have cast doubts over its readiness.
In December 2004, four inmates and four guards died during a 10-hour standoff that started when al-Qaida militants used razors to wrest guns from guards and then tried to break out.
Afghan troops stormed the prison and fired guns and rocket-propelled grenades to retake control.
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