8 killed in prison mutiny in Yemen

At least eight prisoners were killed in a jail mutiny south of Yemen's capital of Sanaa on Wednesday, a local police officer said, Xinhua reported.

At least eight inmates died and about 20 others were wounded in clashes when the prison guards attempted to squash a mutiny at the Interior Ministry's central jail in Dhamar province, some 100 km south of Sanaa, the officer told Xinhua by phone on condition of anonymity.

"The prison guards used batons and tear gas to squash the riot, and opened fire to prevent the prisoners from escaping," he said without providing reasons behind the outbreak of the mutiny.

The jail riot, a second of its kind less than a month in Dhamar 's prison, showed the country's fragile security situation just less than two weeks ahead of presidential elections.

Yemen's acting President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi launched his advertising campaign as a sole presidential candidate for the Feb. 21 polls, under a UN-backed power transfer deal brokered by neighboring oil-rich Gulf countries to end months of deadly protests.