{{Most prisoners on hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay have resumed eating, the US military has said.}}
The inmates of the army-controlled detention centre ended, or at least paused, the hunger strike on Friday as 99 of the 102 prisoners have now eaten at least one meal in the past 24 hours.
They are still considered hunger strikers because the military requires several days of sustained eating and a minimal caloric intake before a prisoner is removed from the list.
It was not clear whether prisoners intended to abandon completely the protest that has roiled Guantanamo for more than four months and prompted President Barack Obama to renew his efforts to close a prison that holds 166 men.
Navy Captain Robert Durand said it had been unusually peaceful in the camps, largely free of conflict between guards and prisoners since the start of Ramadan.
“We are just pleased that they are for the most part eating and for the most part we are having good order and discipline in the camps,” Durand said.
Prison officials issued a “pardon” that erased the men’s accumulated disciplinary infractions and permitted many of them to pray together this week after having spent recent weeks largely isolated from each other.
Durand declined to speculate about whether the hunger strike might flare again after Ramadan.
“I don’t pretend to understand the psychology of the detainees and they don’t always necessarily declare their motives.”
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