{{Honduras has sent troops to take control of the country’s main prison near the capital Tegucigalpa after three inmates were killed in a riot.}}<\/p>\n
Three security guards were also wounded in the clashes, officials said.<\/p>\n
The move was aimed at ending “the reign of criminals in our prison system”, President Porfirio Lobo said.<\/p>\n
It follows the release of a report, which said the government had given up on rehabilitating criminals and left prisons to be controlled by inmates.<\/p>\n
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said the country’s prisons were impoverished, overcrowded and corrupt.<\/p>\n
Government figures show more than 12,000 people in Honduras are currently incarcerated in prisons that were built for just 8,000.<\/p>\n
{{‘Cell-by-cell review’}}<\/p>\n
A police spokesman said a riot broke out at the National Penitentiary after fighting erupted between gang members and other prisoners.<\/p>\n
The prison, located north of Tegucigalpa, reportedly houses some 3,300 inmates.<\/p>\n
Authorities were carrying out a “cell-by-cell review to find out what happened”, prison director Simeon Flores was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n
After the clash, the authorities found hand grenades and firearms in the prison.<\/p>\n
Hours later, the government ordered an immediate military takeover at the facility saying it should end the reign of criminals in the prison.<\/p>\n
Security forces were also guarding injured inmates taken to a hospital in Tegucigalpa, to prevent any attempt by gangs to free the prisoners.<\/p>\n
The violence occurred a day after a new report described the jail system in Honduras as “dehumanised, miserly, and corrupt”.<\/p>\n
The Washington-based Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said the jails were under the de-facto command of inmates – often belonging the country’s violent criminal gangs – who even set rules and enforce physical punishments.<\/p>\n
The report also found that women shared prisons with men and were often victims of abuse.<\/p>\n
“It is essential that the state take on this crisis in the prison system as one of its priorities, because the system has totally collapsed,” said commission spokesman Escobar Gil.<\/p>\n
The report highlighted a lack of staffing, resources and organisation, saying the government had abandoned its responsibilities towards funding and rehabilitation programmes.<\/p>\n
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