Prisoners Riot and Take Control of Prison
Prisoners in northwestern Syria staged a riot at a prison amid the earthquake that struck T?rkiye and Syria. During this process, at least 20 inmates, including members of the radical Sunni armed group Islamic State (IS), escaped.
On the 6th (local time), AFP news agency reported, citing prison officials, that about 20 prisoners escaped from a prison located in the village of Rajo, and they were identified as IS militants. A prison official stated, "There are about 2,000 inmates in the facility, of which approximately 1,300 are estimated to be IS members." On the day of the earthquake, several aftershocks occurred, damaging the Rajo prison building, causing cracks in the walls and doors.
Buildings collapsed due to a strong earthquake in Azmarin village, Idlib province, northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey. [Photo by AP Yonhap News]
Sources explained, "The Rajo prison was also affected by the earthquake, and afterward, the prisoners started a riot and began to take control of part of the prison." It is known that many Kurdish armed group members are also imprisoned there.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, headquartered in the UK, said it could not confirm whether IS prisoners escaped but acknowledged that a riot occurred at the Rajo prison.
Meanwhile, on the 6th (local time) at around 4:17 a.m., a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck T?rkiye and Syria, followed by a magnitude 7.5 strong earthquake about nine hours later, with approximately 80 aftershocks continuing.
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