Libyan prison breakout sees 92 inmates flee

Ninety-two inmates have escaped from a prison in western Libya due to weak security, a local official said.

Hassan bin Sophia, spokesman for the Zliten local council, said only four guards were watching 220 criminal and political detainees at the jail yesterday.

He said the prisoners asked for a doctor, and when the gate was opened, they attacked the guards and fled.

He said 19 inmates were recaptured soon afterwards, two of them injured when guards opened fire. Local officials are contacting the families of the escapees to convince them to surrender.

Libya has experienced a security vacuum since the 2011 overthrow of Colonel Muammar Gadafy. Earlier this month, 54 detainees escaped from a prison in the capital, Tripoli.

AP