SEVEN people were killed and 80 others wounded on Monday in a gun battle and fighting between prisoners and guards putting down a riot at a prison in Khartoum, the interior ministry said. The ministry said that five prisoners and two guards were killed in the clashes that raged during the afternoon, while another 23 prisoners and 57 guards were injured in the fighting. The exchanges of fire broke out at the large Cooper Prison in the north of the capital after riot police used tear gas and canes to quell “subversive” acts by the inmates, the ministry said in a statement. According to recent local press reports, hundreds of prisoners detained for writing bad cheques have been staging a sit-in and a hunger strike since Saturday, demanding to be released so they can repay their debts instead of serving jail sentences. – AFP