![Lebanese riot police hold a position as they clash with demonstrators during a protest against the government's decision to raise taxes to cover a salary increase for teachers and other public servants, in Beirut,Lebanon on 19 March 2017 [STR/AFP/Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Lebanese-riot-policegettyimages-655217612-594x594-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Three inmates were killed and 16 others injured in a fire on Friday at a prison in Lebanon’s Zahle city, according to a security source and state-run news agency, NNA, Reuters reports.
Prisoners set fire to furniture and tried to hold two officers hostages in a riot that started after a routine inspection uncovered a hole dug by inmates attempting to escape, the senior security source told Reuters.
“The fire was contained and the riot was controlled,” he added.
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