Red Cross confirms riot at US-run prison camp in south Iraq   


[JURIST] The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) [official website] has confirmed that prisoners at Camp Bucca [Wikipedia entry], a US-run detention camp in southern Iraq, rioted on April 1 despite an initial US military denial of any incident. An ICRC delegation was at the camp conducting a regular prisoner visit the day of the riot. The Red Cross said it would follow up on the situation. The riot was first reported by a representative of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr [BBC profile] who said detainees had rioted after one of them had been denied medical treatment and also accused US soldiers of firing rubber bullets at detainees, wounding an undetermined number. This is the second reported riot at Camp Bucca [JURIST report] this year; inmates, relatives and human rights groups have complained of overcrowding at this and other US-run Iraqi detention centers, especially since security sweeps done in advance of the January 30 elections.