Also Friday, the bodies of three inmates were discovered and three others were killed in clashes, raising the death toll from the prison siege to 24 prisoners and two soldiers, the government said. Prisoners' support group Ozgur Tayad said the death toll was much higher but gave no figures. Soldiers had been lobbing tear gas canisters into Umraniye prison for four days but they apparently increased their attack on Friday. Some inmates were reportedly wearing makeshift gas masks. Hundreds of soldiers surrounded the prison, and during the night, smoke billowed from it as inmates inside set fire to mattresses and blankets, resisting calls to surrender until the government assault Friday.
Many inmates set themselves ablaze and burned to death rather than surrender.
At least five of the bodies bore gunshot wounds, an autopsy report revealed. Turkish prisons are overcrowded and prisoners often live in open wards that house up to 100 people. Prisoners at the 18 other prisons were overwhelmed by soldiers or surrendered on Tuesday. Authorities began releasing hundreds of prisoners Friday. The amnesty does not apply to prisoners who opposed the state, such as Islamic, Kurdish or leftist militants.