Satellite images from NASA showed virtually the entire coastal plain of the country under water
By Sebastien Berger, Graham Jenkins and Stephen Adams
07/05/2008
Thirty-six prisoners were shot dead at a notorious Burmese prison after
Cyclone Nargis ripped through the country, it has been claimed.
Soldiers and riot police opened fire at Insein Prison in Rangoon, the capital
of Burma, or Myanmar, after inmates there rioted, according to reports.
The facility, which houses many political prisoners who oppose the country’s
military junta, has been described by former inmates as “the darkest
hell-hole in Burma”.
The chilling report came after the Burmese authorities raised the estimate of
the dead and missing to more than 60,000. According to state television, 22,464 had been killed and another 41,054 were
missing after cyclone Nargis barrelled into the low-lying Irrawaddy delta
with 120mph winds, bringing with it an enormous storm surge that inundated
towns and villages.
The cyclone ripped the roofs of thousands of buildings including Insein
Prison.
More than 1,500 prisoners were locked in a hall and rioted, according to the
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
“Even though prisoners requested prison guards to open the doors
and move them to safety, the authorities ignored their request. Some
prisoners set fire to the prison hall and a riot ensued.”
Soldiers called to the prison then opened fire and killed 36
prisoners and injured 70, AAPP said.
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