Prisoners in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli seized two warders on Sunday as a mutiny broke out at the Qubbah jail, internal security force commander General Asharaf Rifi said.
"Around 20 inmates jailed for criminal charges broke doors and burned their mattresses before seizing two unarmed security officers who work at the prison”s pharmacy," Rifi told Agence France Presse (AFP).
"The situation is under control but we are still negotiating with the prisoners, who are demanding amnesty and reduced sentences in order to end the riotin," Rifi said.
An AFP reporter said additional security officers were called in to contain the rioting, and that smoke could be seen billowing from the second floor of the prison, which takes up to 600 inmates.
The local Voice of Lebanon (VDL) Radio Station said Omar Ghamrawi, a known major bank robber is behind the riots, with four others. Prisoners broke a prison door and set fire to personal belongings and bed mats while holding two security elements as hostages. The radio said that the security elements were not armed.
Security forces surrounded the prison cutting off all surrounding streets.
Relatives of the prisoners briefly clashed with police as they attempted to enter the prison to see them.
Interior Minister Ziad Baroud told the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation TV (LBC) that the situation at the prison is under control and heading towards settlement.
The local OTV stated that around 80 out of 504 inmates at the prison were holding two individuals working at the prison pharmacy.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.