Inmates at a
prison in western Turkey on Monday morning took five guards hostage in a
protest at the failure of the government to implement a general amnesty, dpa reported, referring
to the Anadolu news agency.
The hostage-taking at the jail in Burhaniye in the province of Balikesir took place at a before dawn breakfast with prisoners from three wards starting the
protest, Balikesir Governor Selahattin Hatipoglu told Anadolu.
The prisoners were eating breakfast early as they are fasting during daylight
hours during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Hatipoglu said there was a fire in one of the wards of the prison and that they
were attempting to negotiate the release of the guards.