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128 Guantanamo inmates strike
14/09/2005 13:07 - (SA)
Washington - The number of hunger strikers at the Guantanamo United States detention camp has increased to 128 in recent days and 18 are being force-fed, the US military said on Tuesday.
Sergeant Justin Behrens, a military spokesperson, said 18 of the protesters were in hospital and 13 of them were being fed through tubes in the nose and five intravenously.
The military said last Thursday that 87 detainees were taking part in the hunger strike which started on August 8.
The Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR), a non-profit group which has provided lawyers for many detainees, said there were 210 inmates in the protest. The group did not give an update on Tuesday.
According to the CCR, the detainees are protesting against allegations of beatings by guards, their conditions and the US refusal to try them in civilian courts.
There are about 505 inmates from 36 countries at the camp, which is situated at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba.
Most are al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects detained during the war to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in late 2001. Most have since been Guantanamo since January, 2002 without being charged or being able to see a lawyer.
- SAPA
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