The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based NGO with a wide network of sources in the war-torn country, confirmed that a prison riot had broken out, but noted that it was unable to say whether any prisoners had escaped.
About two dozen suspected Islamic State (IS) jihadist group fighters escaped from a Syrian prison during an uprising facilitated by the devastating earthquake that struck southern Turkey and northern Syria early on Monday, a source close to the detention center said.
In the military prison of Razo, near the border of northeastern Syria with Turkey, about 2,000 people are held, 1,300 of whom are suspected of having fought in the ranks of IS, this source clarified. Kurdish fighters are also at the facility.
“After the earthquake that hit Razo, prisoners rioted and took control of some areas of the prison,” the source explained to AFP.
“About twenty prisoners escaped (…). We believe that these are IS members,” added the same source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Razo prison, in an area held by anti-regime rebels, is controlled by pro-Turkish forces.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based NGO with a wide network of sources in the war-torn country, confirmed that a prison riot had broken out, but noted that it was unable to say whether any prisoners had escaped.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake, whose epicenter was less than 100 kilometers from Razo, near Gaziantep, Turkey, damaged gates and walls of the prison, the AFP source said.
The tremors killed more than 3,800 people in the two countries, including more than 1,440 in Syria, according to the still provisional death toll, which continues to rise rapidly.
RES-EMP
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