COLOMBO: At least 23 people, including four prison guards, were killed and more than 100 others injured in Sri Lanka’s deadliest prison riot in over five years after clashes broke out between rival inmate groups at a jail north of the capital, officials said on Monday.
The violence erupted on Sunday evening at Negombo Prison, where inmates from two rival drug gangs fought in overnight clashes that continued into Monday, according to police.
The injured were taken to Negombo Hospital, where Director Pushpa Gamlath said the facility had received 23 bodies and more than 100 wounded inmates and prison staff.
At least 19 people were killed and around 50 others injured after violent clashes erupted between rival inmate groups at a prison in Negombo, Sri Lanka.#violence #clash #prison #SriLanka pic.twitter.com/IXDdIFQvtN
— International Crisis Room 360 (@ICR360) July 6, 2026
“There are some victims with gunshot injuries, some with cuts and severe bruises,” Gamlath told AFP.
Security Response
Authorities said fighting spread across the prison complex, prompting panic among inmates.
Women prisoners housed in an adjoining section climbed onto the roof of their building on Sunday night, demanding their release after reports of the violence spread through the facility.
Police said part of the roof later collapsed, injuring several women.
Police commandos were deployed to the prison complex but had not entered the facility by Monday, while the Sri Lankan Air Force used drones and a helicopter to monitor the situation from the air.
Residents living near the prison reported hearing gunfire.
“Four guards were killed when they tried to break up the rioting,” a police official told AFP. “The situation got out of hand this morning.”
Overcrowding Concerns
The riot is the deadliest to hit Sri Lanka’s prison system since December 2020, when violence at another jail claimed 11 inmates’ lives and injured 117 others during the COVID-19 pandemic.
That unrest prompted authorities to release hundreds of prisoners to ease severe overcrowding.
Official figures show Sri Lanka’s prisons were holding 41,250 inmates as of Sunday, nearly four times their intended capacity.
