BALI, Indonesia (AP) — Security forces stormed a prison on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on Wednesday after rioting inmates temporarily took control of the facility, setting fires and throwing rocks at guards. At least three inmates were wounded.
The violence that erupted Tuesday night at the Kerobokan prison was mainly triggered by the stabbing of an inmate last week, said local police chief Maj. Gen. Totoy Herawan Indra.
Indra said riot police and soldiers stormed the compound early Wednesday as hundreds of heavily armed security forces surrounded the perimeter. He said three prisoners were wounded by rubber bullets and taken to a hospital.
Soldiers and policemen were in full control of the prison following the 15-minute raid, he said. Security forces have recovered about 30 guns that were left behind by prison personnel and none were taken by prisoners.
The prison with a capacity of about 300, now houses around 1,000 inmates, including dozens of foreigners. Those include members of an Australian drug smuggling ring who Australian media have dubbed the "Bali Nine." Indra said foreign prisoners were neither involved nor injured in the rioting.
"The main cause of the riot was the Sunday stabbing," Indra told reporters outside prison after meeting with the prisoners. "They complain about discrimination, injustice and overcapacity."
Hundreds of onlookers, including some foreign tourists, gathered around the prison, to see what was happening.
Two water cannons and six truckloads of troops have been deployed to secure the prison, witnesses said.
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