Security forces with tanks and heavy guns surrounded Kabul's main prison yesterday, as authorities resumed negotiations with rioting prisoners but warned they could use force.
Gunfire continued to ring out from Policharki jail on the outskirts of the Afghan capital, where officials say al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners incited a riot by hundreds of inmates late Saturday and took control of much of the prison.
Mohammed Ibrahim Sahdat, a government negotiator, told journalists after talking to the prisoners that four of the rioters had been killed and 38 wounded.
Hamidullah, a prison medic, said inmates had written in notes thrown to him from cell windows that five inmates had been killed and 30 injured in two separate cell blocks in firing by police guards.
It wasn't immediately possible to reconcile the different accounts.
Mohammed Qasim Hashimzai, the deputy justice minister, said he wanted to end the standoff peacefully, but warned that the government could use force.
"We can take all these prisoners in one hour," he told reporters as he traveled to the prison to restart negotiations. "But to prevent bloodshed we are trying to negotiate."
Prison authorities cut off water, electricity and food to the rioters, said Abdul Salaam Bakshi, chief of prisons in Afghanistan.
From inside the jail, inmates could be heard shouting, "God is Great!"
They were armed with small knives and clubs fashioned from wrecked furniture, but did not have guns, Bakshi said on Sunday.
The unrest broke out late Saturday in Block Two of the prison, which houses about 1,300 of its 2,000 inmates, including 350 al-Qaeda and Taliban, after prisoners refused to put on new uniforms, delivered in response to a breakout last month by seven Taliban prisoners who had disguised themselves as visitors.
Hashimzai confirmed that rioting had also spread on Sunday to Block One, which houses hundreds more inmates. He said no prisoners had escaped.
A man claiming to be a spokesman for the inmates in Block One called reporters and demanded retrials for all the prisoners, saying many were innocent while others had been given unfairly harsh prison sentences.
The man, who identified himself only by the name Maqsodi, said the riot would continue until the government met their demands.
"Two-thirds of the prisoners here are innocent. The courts were unfair," he said.
It was not possible immediately to confirm the man's identity.
Sahdat, the government negotiator, who is also a member of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, confirmed that some prisoners were demanding their cases be retried.
Security forces had yet to gain access inside parts of the jail under prisoners' control, including a wing of the prison housing its 70 female inmates and about 70 children who live with them.
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS