Some 70 family members of prisoners demonstrated outside Roumieh.( AFP/ STR)
Security forces stormed Lebanon's largest jail on Tuesday after talks failed to secure the release of three guards detained by inmates who have been demanding an amnesty and better conditions, a security source said.
"A special team from the internal security forces is seeking to quell the uprising in Roumieh Prison after assaulting it," the source said. "It has taken control of one building, where Islamists are held, and is trying to do the same with two other buildings."
The Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) said the assault took place after negotiations broke down but did not provide details.
Father Marwan Ghanem, who has been involved in negotiations to free the guards, told AFP earlier that "the inmates at Roumieh Prison resumed their protest Monday evening and it is continuing at this hour."
Ghanem said the detained men were in good health and were being treated well.
"Authorities have been able to contact them to make sure they are okay," he said. "The inmates consider them as brothers and are holding them just to pressure authorities to respond to their demands."
A security official said the guards were not under threat and were simply being prevented from leaving an area of the prison.
Meanwhile, some 70 family members of the prisoners demonstrated outside the jail on Tuesday and burned tires while demanding they be given access to the inmates.
Ghanem said the power supply to the prison had been cut off to prevent inmates from recharging cell phones introduced illegally.
The inmates began rioting on Saturday, burning mattresses and smashing windows and doors to press their demands for better conditions at the overcrowded prison, 12 kilometer northeast of Beirut.
Interior Minister Ziad Baroud acknowledged at a press conference Tuesday that conditions at Roumieh were intolerable and that quick action was needed to prevent an escalation.
He noted that of the 3,700 inmates currently at the prison, only 721 had been tried and convicted.
"I am very supportive of their demands," Baroud said. "We are working to deal with the matter without having one drop of blood spilled."
He said his ministry has been working to improve conditions at Roumieh for two years, and urged other ministries and the cabinet to follow suit by speeding up the trials process and providing finance.
Poor conditions in prisons and a slow judicial process have sparked several riots in Lebanese jails. Some prisoners can be incarcerated for years before their cases come to court.
Compounding the situation is the political stalemate in Lebanon which has been without a government since January, when Prime Minister Saad Hariri's cabinet was toppled by Hezbollah and its allies.
Roumieh was originally built to house 1,500 inmates but is today crammed with nearly 4,000 men – 65 percent of the country's prison population.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon
"A special team from the internal security forces is seeking to quell the uprising in Roumieh Prison after assaulting it," the source said. "It has taken control of one building, where Islamists are held, and is trying to do the same with two other buildings."
The Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) said the assault took place after negotiations broke down but did not provide details.
Father Marwan Ghanem, who has been involved in negotiations to free the guards, told AFP earlier that "the inmates at Roumieh Prison resumed their protest Monday evening and it is continuing at this hour."
Ghanem said the detained men were in good health and were being treated well.
"Authorities have been able to contact them to make sure they are okay," he said. "The inmates consider them as brothers and are holding them just to pressure authorities to respond to their demands."
A security official said the guards were not under threat and were simply being prevented from leaving an area of the prison.
Meanwhile, some 70 family members of the prisoners demonstrated outside the jail on Tuesday and burned tires while demanding they be given access to the inmates.
Ghanem said the power supply to the prison had been cut off to prevent inmates from recharging cell phones introduced illegally.
The inmates began rioting on Saturday, burning mattresses and smashing windows and doors to press their demands for better conditions at the overcrowded prison, 12 kilometer northeast of Beirut.
Interior Minister Ziad Baroud acknowledged at a press conference Tuesday that conditions at Roumieh were intolerable and that quick action was needed to prevent an escalation.
He noted that of the 3,700 inmates currently at the prison, only 721 had been tried and convicted.
"I am very supportive of their demands," Baroud said. "We are working to deal with the matter without having one drop of blood spilled."
He said his ministry has been working to improve conditions at Roumieh for two years, and urged other ministries and the cabinet to follow suit by speeding up the trials process and providing finance.
Poor conditions in prisons and a slow judicial process have sparked several riots in Lebanese jails. Some prisoners can be incarcerated for years before their cases come to court.
Compounding the situation is the political stalemate in Lebanon which has been without a government since January, when Prime Minister Saad Hariri's cabinet was toppled by Hezbollah and its allies.
Roumieh was originally built to house 1,500 inmates but is today crammed with nearly 4,000 men – 65 percent of the country's prison population.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon
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