At least 23 inmates have died after a fire at an Ethiopian prison where anti-government protesters are reportedly being held, the government has said.

A government statement says 21 died of suffocation after a stampede while two others were killed as they tried to escape.

Some local media have disputed the account, citing unnamed witnesses who say prisoners were shot by the wardens.

There has been an unprecedented wave of protests in Ethiopia in recent months.

The identity of the prisoners has not been made public.

Sustained gunfire could be heard coming from Qilinto prison, on the outskirts of the capital Addis Ababa, after the fire broke out on Saturday, local media reported.

TV footage and photos posted on social media showed plumes of smoke rising from the prison compound.

Reports that the fire was started deliberately as part of an attempted jailbreak have not been independently verified.

There have been numerous protests in the Oromia region by members of the country's largest ethnic group since November 2015.

any Oromo activists are being held at the Qilinto facility, according to pro-opposition media.

New York-based Human Rights Watch says that more than 400 people have been killed in clashes with the security forces in Oromia, although the government disputes this figure. </s> 23 die in Ethiopia prison fire over weekend, government says

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Twenty-three people have died in a prison fire in Ethiopia over the weekend, a state-affiliated broadcaster reported Monday.

The Kilinto prison on the outskirts of the capital, Addis Ababa, is where many opposition figures and journalists are held. Activists first raised concerns about the fire on Saturday, and some local media reported that gunfire was heard.

Fana Broadcasting Corporate cited a government statement as saying 21 inmates died from stampede and suffocation. The other two were killed while trying to escape.

The government originally said only one person died in the fire.

The latest government statement gives no details on how the fire began. It says an investigation has begun.

This East African country has seen months of sometimes deadly protests calling for wider freedoms, while the government has been accused by opposition activists and rights groups of killings, beatings and internet blockages.

The Oromia and Amhara regions have held protests in recent weeks that residents and rights groups say have left many dead. Regional concerns that sparked the demonstrations have broadened into anti-government protests.

Ethiopia's government, a close security ally of the West, is often accused of silencing dissent. Recent video obtained by The Associated Press showed Ethiopian security forces beating, kicking and dragging several protesters during a rare demonstration in the capital.

On Sunday, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said her country has raised "grave concerns" about what it calls excessive use of force against protesters in Ethiopia.

Ambassador Samantha Power called the recent violence in Ethiopia "extremely serious" and called for a transparent and independent investigation. She said the U.S. has asked the government to allow people to protest peacefully. </s> Image copyright Reuters Image caption Political activists from the Oromo ethnic group are believed to be held in the jail

At least 23 inmates have died after a fire at an Ethiopian prison where anti-government protesters are reportedly being held, the government has said.

A government statement says 21 died of suffocation after a stampede while two others were killed as they tried to escape.

Some local media have disputed the account, citing unnamed witnesses who say prisoners were shot by the wardens.

There has been an unprecedented wave of protests in Ethiopia in recent months.

The identity of the prisoners has not been made public.

Sustained gunfire could be heard coming from Qilinto prison, on the outskirts of the capital Addis Ababa, after the fire broke out on Saturday, local media reported.

TV footage and photos posted on social media showed plumes of smoke rising from the prison compound.

Image copyright ESAT Image caption A TV station based outside Ethiopia broadcast footage of the fire

Reports that the fire was started deliberately as part of an attempted jailbreak have not been independently verified.

There have been numerous protests in the Oromia region by members of the country's largest ethnic group since November 2015.

Inside Qilinto prison by Tesfalem Waldyes

Qilinto is a remand prison, where people can be held for three years or more as they await trial.

The prison is divided in four zones made up of brick walls and tin-roofed cells.

The prison hosts around 3,000 inmates at a time who are held in cells measuring 24m by 12m. Each cell holds between 90 and 130 inmates.

It is a highly secured prison with surveillance cameras installed on many corners.

All types of prisoners are held there but it is where political prisoners including bloggers, journalists and activists are usually sent.

Political prisoners usually mix with other criminals but they are usually locked up in a designated "Kitat Bet" (punishment house) or "dark house" if they complain about mistreatment.

Inmates can be exposed to communicable diseases due to overcrowding and get poor medical attention.

Due to the bad quality of food provided by the prison administration, prisoners mainly depend on food brought by their families.

Tesfalem Waldyes is an Ethiopian journalist who was held in Qilinto prison for a year before being released in July 2015.

Many Oromo activists are being held at the Qilinto facility, according to pro-opposition media.

New York-based Human Rights Watch says that more than 400 people have been killed in clashes with the security forces in Oromia, although the government disputes this figure.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has blamed "anti-peace forces" for the violence. </s> Families and relatives of prisoners are desperate for answers after Ethiopia’s high-security prison, Kilinto, located on the outskirts, south of the capital Addis Ababa, caught fire on Saturday.

The fire broke out at about 8.10am and lasted a “good two hours” before the fire brigade from the Addis Ababa Fire and Emergency Prevention and Rescue Agency arrived at the scene.

State media, quoting an exclusive statement sent to it from the Government Communications Affairs Office (GCAO), said that 23 inmates had died, among which 21 from a stampede, burns and suffocation, while two were shot dead as they were apparently trying to escape.

Though the cause of the blaze remains unknown, the government says it is still investigating. However, families are anxious to know the whereabouts of their loved ones.

“I do not know where my son is. Is he shot dead or burnt alive or even is he alive? I have no idea. I rampaged everywhere in the prison compound, shouting and asking for him. I searched for him in hospitals, but no one tells me anything, and I could not find my son,” bemoaned Muchit Teka, the mother of Yonatan Tesfaye, a young senior opposition Blue Party member and prominent rights activist.

Tesfaye, the spokesperson of the opposition Semayawi (Blue) party, was arrested in December 2015 and held in lengthy pretrial detention for comments he posted on Facebook. He was held without charge for months, and it was not until May 4 this year that he was charged with “incitement, planning, preparation, conspiracy and attempt” to commit a terrorist act.

The government says his posts against a government plan to extend the capital’s administrative authority to the Oromia region were in pursuit of the objectives of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), which it considers a terrorist organisation.

“Even if they are dead they should let us know, as it is a customary and the right thing to do to rest the dead properly,” Teka cried.

“How can they be silent about this? Don’t they have families? What if they were in our shoes?”

Tesfaye’s mother was not the only one lamenting the silence of the government in the wake of the deadly blaze. The compound is being guarded by security forces but families are waiting on the streets around it for information, while others desperately search hospital records.

“We searched for them in hospitals and the prison but they are not there and no one would tell us. The government has the responsibility to inform where our families are,” said Bontu Bekele – Son of Bekele Gerba, a prominent politician and deputy chairperson of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC).

Local media reported that two buildings as well as recreational and other facilities that inmates used were damaged by the fire. According to reports, nine injured inmates and police members are receiving medical treatment.

The remainder of the prison population were transferred to various other correctional facilities as large parts of the Kilinto facility was damaged.

The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front is a multi-ethnic coalition made up of four parties. The opposition and political analysts, though, say it is dominated by the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front. This is the main cause for the unrest, which, according to the New York-based Human Rights Watch group, has seen at least 500 people killed by security forces since the protests began in November.

Though demonstrations first started among Ethiopian Muslim communities in 2012 demanding equal rights of people, it later spread to Ethiopia’s biggest ethnic group, the Oromo, and then to the Amhara, the second most populous group.

The Ethiopian government, which is a close ally of many Western nations because of its strategic geographical location in the region, last month rejected a United Nations request that it send observers, saying it alone was responsible for the security of its citizens.

Various international organisations have released statements expressing their “grave concern” at the deteriorating situation in the country.

The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democracy Front, which is often accused by rights groups of regularly cracking down on the opposition and jailing journalists, won every seat in the 547- seat parliament in elections last year. </s> These are external links and will open in a new window

An inmate has been killed in a fire at a prison, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed.

The prison service said Kevin Delahunty, 40, died in a blaze at category C HMP Risley, in Warrington, Cheshire on Thursday.

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman confirmed it had opened an investigation into the incident.

According to the Telegraph & Argus, Delahunty is from Bradford, West Yorkshire, and died in a cell fire.

"As with all deaths in custody, there will be an independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.

"Our sincere condolences are with Mr Delahunty's family and friends at this difficult time."

An inspection report in 2016 identified a number of failures at HMP Risley which holds more than 1,100 prisoners.

A fifth of prisoners felt unsafe, it said, and "it was not a sufficiently respectful prison". </s> Festival goers flee as police fire teargas into the crowd in Bishoftu, near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Sunday, October 2. At least 52 people died during the stampede that followed. An estimated two million people had gathered at a sacred lake to take part in the Irreecha ceremony to mark the Oromo New Year. </s> The Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, has visited the Medium Security Prisons in Minna, the Niger State capital, where there was a jailbreak.

The visit of the Minister follows after gunmen attacked the prison on Sunday night in the Tunga area of Minna Metropolis.

Two persons, a prison warder and a commercial motorcyclist, were killed in the process of the jailbreak.

Confirming the incident to Channels Television, spokesperson of the prison service in Niger State, Rabiu Shuaibu, “The unfortunate incident was perpetrated by armed criminals who attacked the prison and gained access after an exchange of fire with prison armed men.

“This led to the death of a prison officer and an Okada rider who convey a prison officer on night duty.

“The number of prisoners on the flee is still being compiled but some of the fleeing prisoners have been rearrested.

“The Prison authority in Minna is profiling the number of fleeing inmates to ascertain the escaped prisoners. So far, through the combined effort of all security agencies in the state, seven prisoners who attempted to escape have been recaptured and returned to the prison.”

The prison service has since called on residents of the area to go about their normal activities noting that normalcy has returned and security agencies are working to ensure that fleeing inmates are recaptured. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Police used tear gas to disperse crowds desperate for news of loved ones

Relatives of 68 people who died when a fire broke out at a police station in the Venezuelan city of Valencia have demanded answers as to what happened.

The blaze reportedly started after prisoners set fire to mattresses in an attempt to break out on Wednesday.

The United Nations has called on the Venezuelan authorities to carry out a speedy investigation and to provide reparations to victims' families.

The fire is one of the deadliest incidents in Venezuela's prisons.

The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement that "where applicable" those responsible should be brought to justice.

On Wednesday, anguished relatives had gathered in front of the police station demanding information about their loved ones.

They were dispersed by police firing tear gas.

Chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab said 66 men and two women, who had been visiting the cells overnight, were killed in the blaze. He also said that an investigation would be launched "immediately".

Venezuela's worst prison tragedies:

August 2017: A riot in police holding cells leaves 37 dead in Amazonas state

March 2017: 14 bodies are found in a mass grave in a jail in Guarico state

September 2015: A blaze in a prison in Tocuyito prison kills 17

January 2013: More than 60 inmates are killed in a prison riot in Barquisimeto

What happened at the police station?

The circumstances surrounding the fire have not been officially confirmed.

The association Una Ventana a la Libertad (A Window on Freedom), which monitors jail conditions, said its reports showed a police officer had been shot in the leg by a detainee and that shortly afterwards mattresses in cells were set ablaze and the fire quickly spread.

Mr Santander did confirm one police officer had been shot.

Rescuers reportedly broke through walls to try to free those trapped by the blaze.

Nearly all of those who died were inmates but at least two women who were visiting at the time were also killed, Mr Saab said.

Some of the victims burned to death, others died of smoke inhalation.

What has the response been?

Angry relatives gathered outside the detention centre and clashed with police as they sought information about loved ones.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Relatives complained they had been given no information

Image copyright Reuters

Aida Parra, who said she had last seen her son the day before, told the Associated Press news agency: "I don't know if my son is dead or alive. They haven't told me anything."

Dora Blanco told local media: "I am a desperate mother. My son has been here a week. They have not given any information."

The government has set up an inquiry.

Carabobo state governor Rafael Lacava expressed his condolences, adding: "A serious and profound investigation has been initiated to find the causes and those responsible for these regrettable events."

What's the state of Venezuela's penal system?

Facilities are notoriously overcrowded, with violence and deadly riots common.

The country has struggled to accommodate its prisoners amid an ongoing economic crisis, leading to the use of temporary facilities such as the one in Valencia.

'De facto prisons'

By Daniel García Marco, BBC Mundo, Caracas

Many police stations in Venezuela are being used as de facto prisons. Their holding cells were built for 30 to 40 people but often hundreds are crammed inside awaiting trial or transfer to a proper jail.

Detainees can sometimes spend years there. When I visited such a police station several months ago in Caracas, I saw dozens of men sharing a very small cell. Their relatives came twice a day to deliver them some food which the prisoners shared among themselves.

Carlos Nieto of Una Ventana a la Libertad says that about 45,000 people are currently locked up in 500 police stations across the country. He says that a disaster like the one that happened in Valencia could "happen anytime, anywhere and [the next one] could even be worse".

Inmates are supposed to be held for only 48 hours in police holding cells.

Una Ventana a la Libertad says some police facilities are overfilled at five times their capacity.

The organisation says that 65 people died last year in temporary cells due to violence, disease or malnutrition.

Last month inmates at a different prison in Carabobo took a number of prisoners and guards hostage in another riot. </s> 182 out of the 210 prisoners in the Minna Medium Security Prison are at large following the attack on the facility, the Minister of Interior, General Abdulrahman Dambazau, disclosed on Monday.

Gunmen had on Sunday night invaded the Minna Medium Security Prison killing one prison officer and an okada rider that conveyed him to the facility.

It was learnt that the gunmen came to the prison premises about 9pm, shooting sporadically for over one hour to scare away residents.

Our correspondent gathered that they attacked the prison and gained access after an exchange of fire with armed prison officials.

A resident of Kafin-Teller where the prison is situated, Mohammed Umaru, told our correspondent that some of the prisoners that escaped during the incident came back on their own.

According to him, most of them have almost concluded their jail terms and have to come back to avoid extension.

Addressing journalists after assessing the prison in Minna, Dambazau said that two prisoners whose death warrants were to be signed by Governor Abubakar Bello were among the escapees.

“Among the escapees were two condemned criminals whose death warrants were supposed to have been signed by the governor of Niger State today. That is probably part of the motivation for this prison break. However, the investigation will bring out most of these.”

The minister blamed the jailbreak on security gaps, saying, “The visit revealed some security gaps which must be tackled to prevent reoccurrence.”

He said a committee had been set up to investigate the incident, adding that the ministry would work with the committee’s report.

Meanwhile, the Comptroller General of Nigerian Prisons Service, Ja’afaru Ahmed, has debunked the rumour that the prison was attacked because it had Boko Haram inmates.

“There is no Boko Haram suspect in the Minna prison facility. We do not know who attacked the prison yet but investigations will reveal it.”

Ahmed did not disclose how the gunmen gained access into the prison, the number of officials on duty and those injured.

The state Governor, Abubakar Bello, described the incident as unfortunate, adding that the state was set to partner with the Federal Government towards forestalling reoccurrence.

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At least 23 inmates are killed in a fire and stampede at Kaliti Prison near Addis Ababa in Ethiopia during an attempted jailbreak.