Protests erupt at Roumieh prison

 
A number of inmates in Roumieh prison staged protests on Wednesday night on the prison’s third floor.  

Sources said that the protesters refused to attend the daily inmate count and enter their cells for two hours, calling on the concerned authorities at the prison to transfer the Abra clashes’ inmates to the division of detainees.  

Accordingly, the security forces intervened and prevented the situation from escalating.  

Fighting in Sidon's Abra region began Sunday (23 June) after troops arrested a follower of hardline Sunni cleric Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir follower.           

The army says the cleric's supporters opened fire without provocation on an army checkpoint.Official reports said at least 17 soldiers were killed and 50 were wounded in the fighting while more than 20 of al-Assir's supporters died in the battle, according to a security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to reporters.         

Al-Assir is a virulent critic of the powerful Shiite group Hezbollah group, which along with its allies dominates Lebanon's government. He supports rebels fighting to oust Syria's President Bashar Assad.           

The 2 day fighting between troops and armed supporters of al-Assir have transformed the city, which had been largely spared the violence plaguing border areas near Syria, into a combat zone.            

Several were arrested in the wake of the clashes and placed in the Roumieh prison awaiting conviction.