Police used tear gas to control a rooftop protest at Pallansena Open-Air Correctional Centre in Negombo on Thursday morning, with around 30 inmates refusing to return inside after climbing onto the facility's roof.
Authorities deployed tear gas at Pallansena Open-Air Correctional Centre in Dalupotha, Negombo, after a group of approximately 30 inmates staged a protest by climbing onto the prison roof and refusing to return inside, according to Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala's statement to parliament. The incident occurred following breakfast on Thursday morning.
The situation escalated as inmates reportedly pelted stones at prison officers during the unrest. In response, police mobilized multiple security units to the facility, including the Police Special Task Force, the Police Riot Control Unit, and the Sri Lanka Air Force, to contain the situation and tighten security around the correctional centre. The specific cause of the protest was not immediately detailed in initial reports.
The Pallansena unrest occurred amid a broader pattern of prison disturbances across Sri Lanka. On the previous night, tensions at New Magazine Prison were brought under control after 11 inmates were hospitalized with injuries, one of whom subsequently died. Separately, a disturbance at Kuruwita Prison on Thursday morning resulted in two inmate deaths and multiple hospitalizations, with prisoners reportedly damaging the prison hospital during the incident. The current disturbances followed a transfer of inmates from Negombo Prison to Pallansena after clashes were reported at the Negombo facility last month.
