Violence flared at Afghanistan's main jail again Tuesday, ending a brief calm following two days of rioting which killed four inmates and which police blamed on al Qaeda and Taleban inmates.
Gunfire was heard from the grim 1970s-era Pul-e-Charkhi jail as officials said some of the 1,300 prisoners were once more smashing windows and beds as they had done when the first revolt erupted late Saturday.
Authorities had been hopeful that talks late Monday would end the stand-off and had been preparing earlier Tuesday to move the prisoners to new facilities after their own were damaged in the rioting.
"It seems that they don't respect what they had agreed during negotiations," Deputy Justice Minister Mohammad Qasim Hashimzai told AFP. "They've started to break windows and beds and even walls."
He said it appeared some of the inmates were receiving orders from outside the jail through their mobile phones.
Authorities were trying their best to calm the situation, he said as extra police arrived and a spy drone flew overhead. A prisoner who asked not to be named told AFP by mobile phone that police opened fire late Tuesday after inmates refused to move to another building.
The man, who said he was being held on criminal charges, said Taleban and al Qaeda prisoners launched the initial revolt and then the other inmates joined them. "We're together now and resisting together," the prisoner said. "Unless our demands are met we will not surrender to police."
The prisoner said that the criminals' demands included improved living conditions and a review of their cases, but he did not know what the alleged al Qaeda and Taleban wanted. He added that he had heard of a number of casualties but had personally seen only one prisoner killed and one injured.
Walls separating units for criminals, political prisoners and women were smashed through and police had periodically fired into the building to try to control the prisoners, officials said.
Troops and security forces surrounded the block for two days and on Monday the army threatened to storm the building if talks failed.
Negotiators had accepted some of the demands, officials said. These included not making prisoners wear uniforms, a move that was designed to stop escapes during visiting hours but which apparently sparked the initial unrest.
The prisoners then released the women prisoners, many of whom had children with them, and two female guards after the talks on Monday. They also agreed for the four dead and wounded to be removed from the block.
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