35 prisoners flee after beating guards in Tunisia
By IANSWednesday, February 16, 2011
Tunis, Feb 17 (IANS/AKI) Thirty-five inmates held in a prison in southern Tunisia escaped by assaulting guards and making a hole in the wall, a media report said.
Most of the escapees were apprehended following the break-out from the prison in the Mediterranean coastal town of Gabes, said a report Wednesday by TAP, the country’s official news agency.
A number of jail breaks occurred during the days when thousands of people filled Tunisia’s streets in the protests that would spread to other Arab countries.
On Jan 15, about 1,000 inmates fled a prison in Kasserine, located in central Tunisia.
About a month of daily protests prompted Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, who ruled for 23 years, to flee the north African country in January. A vacuum has been filled by a caretaker government, but protests and violence have continued.
