Officials at the US Camp X-ray at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba have revealed that 45 Taliban and al-Qaeda detainees are refusing meals, almost triple the number in recent weeks.
Captain Al Shimkus said three detainees have been taken to the hospital for treatment.
One has now been released and sent back after he ate. The others are to be fed intravenously if they do not start to eat by the weekend.
On February 27th, a group of detainees began a hunger strike in protest at their detention but the numbers dwindled from a high of nearly 200 to three who ate two weeks ago.
The three treated at the hospital were the same three who had been on the hunger strike for weeks. It is unclear when they began refusing meals again.
It is also unclear whether the others refusing meals are fasting or have revived the earlier hunger strike.
AP