Deputy Justice Minister Mohammad Qasim Hashimzai told reporters today that Afghan authorities are in full control of the prison.

Up to five people died in the unrest, led by Taliban prisoners at Pul-i-Charkhi jail on Kabul's outskirts. The disturbance erupted on Saturday after prisoners were issued uniforms to prevent a repeat of a January escape by seven Taliban inmates who mingled with visitors.

•PUL-I-CHARKHI, Afghanistan, 1 March 2006 -- A Kabul jail continues to be the scene of protest today after being overrun by Taliban-led inmates.

Troops backed by tanks surrounded the Pul-e-Charkhi jail after rioting broke out on Saturday. The riot erupted after prisoners were issued uniforms to prevent a repeat of a January escape by seven members of the Taliban militia who mixed with visitors.

Deputy Justice Minister Mohammad Ghossam Hashemzai said some 1,000 prisoners are to be transferred to another prison. However, a hard-core group of some 300 Taliban members are still making demands on negotiators.

The Pul-e-Charkhi prison is a huge, rundown facility on the outskirts of the Afghan capital. It houses Al Qaeda and Taliban suspects, as well as other criminals.

•PUL-I-CHARKHI, Afghanistan, 1 March 2006 -- An Afghan jail remains under siege Wednesday days after being overrun by Taliban-led inmates.

Talks aimed at ending the siege broke down on Tuesday and Sibghatullah Mojadidi, a former president who has headed talks with the prisoners. He said inmates had been warned the authorities were ready to use force if they did not give up.

Deputy Justice Minister Mohammad Qasim Hashimzai said women and children had been transferred on Tuesday night from a riot-hit wing of the Pul-e-Charkhi jail on Kabul's outskirts.

Troops backed by tanks and armored personnel carriers have surrounded the jail since the riot broke out on Saturday night. Officials say the riot erupted after prisoners were issued uniforms to prevent a repeat of a January escape by seven Taliban who mixed with visitors.

• PUL-I-CHARKHI, Afghanistan; 28 February 2006 -- Gunfire erupted at Kabul's main prison today after negotiations with rioters apparently broke down.

The AP quotes a police commander in the Pul-i-Charkhi prison Abdul Halik as saying police fired at inmates trying to push down a gate. He said authorities urged the prisoners to move into a newly refurbished wing of the jail, but the inmates refused.

And a police officer told Reuters that police opened fire after inmates tried to attack them. It wasn't immediately clear if there were any casualties.

In an apparent ease of tension, inmates earlier handed over the bodies of four people killed and 17 wounded rioters after the rebellion broke out on Saturday.The rioters' demands include better prison conditions and timely trial of cases.

• PUL-I-CHARKHI, Afghanistan; 28 February 2006 -- A standoff at Kabul's main prison seems to be easing as the Afghan government is investigating demands of the prisoners.

The standoff started on Saturday, when suspected Al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners seized a block of more than 1,000 inmates. The rioters were complaining about prison conditions and rules.

RFE/RL's correspondents in Kabul say the chief negotiator Sebghatullah Mujaddedi described some of the demands as reasonable. They described the current prison situation as "calm."

Officials confirmed that the bodies of four people killed during the rebellion included two foreign nationals a Tajik and a Pakistani. They also said the bodies of those killed and the 17 injured rioters were taken to a hospital.

Food and water have been supplied to prisoners. The government has said it will respond to the rioters' demands within the next few days.

• PUL-I-CHARKHI, Afghanistan, 28 February 2006 -- A siege at Kabul's main jail entered a fourth day today.

A number of prisoners are reported to have been killed and dozens wounded since more than 1,000 inmates led by Taliban commanders and a kidnap gang leader took over parts of the Pul-i-Charkhi prison on Saturday night.

Troops backed by tanks and armored personnel carriers have surrounded the jail on Kabul's eastern outskirts, but Reuters reports numbers appear much lower on Tuesday.

Authorities sent food to the prisoners on Monday as a sign of good faith after negotiations led by Sibghatullah Mojadidi, a former president who heads a state-appointed peace commission trying to encourage Taliban insurgents to lay down their arms.

Nader Nadery of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission which has been involved in talks with the prisoners said Taliban suspects are demanding to be tried or freed.

• PUL-I-CHARKHI; 27 February 2006 -- Supplies of food, water and electricity have been restored to rioting inmates at Kabul's high security Pul-e-Charki prison following a day of negotiations with Afghan officials.

Chief government negotiator Sebghatullah Mujaddadi said the prisoners believed to number around 1,300 had agreed to temporarily halt violence during the night.

The prisoners have submitted a list of demands to end theiroccupation. Mujaddadi told RFE/RL that the government could consider some of the demands, but that many of them were unattainable. He said talks would continue tomorrow.

An Radio Free Afghanistan reporter said that as night fell, the atmosphere around the prison was calm. He quotes a high-ranking military official as saying that 800 troops will remain around the jail overnight.

A report says the inmates have also agreed to hand over the bodies of several people killed as well as 30 wounded people. It is now unclear whether they will also release women and children from a neighboring prison wing which they broke into on Sunday.

• PUL-I-CHARKHI; 27 February 2006 -- Negotiations are continuing with inmates occupying a cell block at the Pul-i-Charkhi prison near the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Hundreds of police and troops backed by armored vehicles sealed off the prison after suspected Taliban commanders seized a block of more than 1,000 prisoners on Saturday (25 February). The rioters are complaining of prison conditions and rules.

A Defense Ministry spokesman, General Zahir Azimi, said the talks involve representatives from the Justice Ministry, attorney general's office, the United Nations, and Afghan human rights officials.

Negotiations on Sunday, 26 February yielded no progress.

One person involved in the talks (human rights official Nader Nadery) said the prisoners are asking to be freed and claiming to hold hostages.

Details on casualties remain sketchy. Reports say up to seven people may have been killed, but this has not been confirmed.
(RFE/RL's Afghan service, Agencies)

Negotiations With Rioting Afghan Prisoners End For Night

• KABUL, 26 February 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Afghan officials say negotiations have been broken off for the night with rioting inmates of a high-security prison on the outskirts of Kabul.

Afghan deputy Justice Minister Mohammed Qasim Hashimzai said officials would try to resume talks at the Pul-i-Chakri prison on Monday morning. The rioters, who include Al-Qaeda and Taliban convicts, have taken over a block of the jail which holds about 1,300 prisoners.

They have also broken into another wing, where 70 women are jailed. Policemen and soldiers are surrounding the prison. An Associated Press reporter said tanks and armored personnel carriers of the Afghan army and NATO-led security forces are parked outside the prison.