Sri Lanka jail siege ends

A two-day siege at a jail in Sri Lanka has been resolved peacefully after the interior minister visited the prison and the government agreed to speed up bail applications.

It has ended and there were no problems

Military official

Some 400 prisoners had taken control of Tangalla prison in southern Sri Lanka on Sunday, taking at least 10 staff hostage.

The BBC's Frances Harrison says at least seven people were injured in the fighting when the inmates seized control of the facility.

The prisoners had been demanding quicker investigations into their cases, as well as better jail conditions.

The riot is thought to have begun when a group of Sri Lankan army deserters, who were awaiting trial, broke into the prison armoury and seized weapons.

Weapons returned

The dispute was resolved following the visit by Interior Minister John Amaratunga as well as the leader of the opposition in parliament.

There was a lengthy gun battle on Sunday

"It has ended and there were no problems," one military official told the Reuters news agency.

He added the weapons had been handed over and the hostages released.

Some reports said there was a long gun battle on Sunday, with inmates firing from the prison towers and artillery vents of the old Dutch prison.

Troops were airlifted in and the area was cordoned off. A curfew was declared in Tangalla town.

According to Reuters, a government hospital next to the prison was also evacuated as a precaution.

Local journalists said two people who were injured were released by the prisoners for medical treatment during the siege and a Buddhist monk was allowed inside the jail to talk to them.