Report: At Least 10 Guards at Roumieh Prison Detained over Prison Break

At least ten security guards at Roumieh prison were arrested on Saturday as investigations are ongoing after three Fatah al-Islam inmates managed to escape from the largest prison facility in the country, media reports said.

According to MTV, State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr ordered the detention of 11 guards at the prison.

The channel pointed out that several officers will be interrogated on Sunday.

Three Fatah al-Islam inmates – a Palestinian, a Syrian and an Algerian – managed to escape from Roumieh prison around a month ago, media reports said on Friday.

Judicial and Security sources informed MTV that counting prisoners in Roumieh was “impossible.”

They also noted that bloc “B” was completely under Fatah al-Islam inmates' control, who have all the required technologies to form a comprehensive network.”

Interior minister Marwan Charbel said earlier that the prisoners are being counted on a daily basis.

In a major prison break from Roumieh, five Fatah al-Islam inmates managed to escape on August 13, 2011.

The Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon was almost totally destroyed in 2007 during a months-long conflict between the Lebanese army and the al-Qaida-inspired Fatah al-Islam.

The fighting killed some 400 people, including 168 soldiers.

Roumieh, the oldest and largest of Lebanon's overcrowded prisons, has witnessed sporadic prison breaks in recent years and escalating riots over the past months as inmates living in poor conditions demand better treatment.