Prisoners revolt in Syria's Hama jail, seize guards
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BEIRUT - Syrian government troops surrounded Hama prison in the west of the country on Monday and fired tear gas after inmates revolted, seizing several guards, a monitoring group reported.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said inmates were protesting against a planned transfer of prisoners from Hama to Sednaya military prison north of Damascus. Those held in the Hama jail include political and Islamist prisoners, it said.
An insurgent group operating near Hama, located 130 miles from Damascus, said it was ready to shell government militias in towns nearby in response to mistreatment of the inmates, who it said were demanding "basic rights" including trial, the British-based Observatory reported.
