Inmates stage hunger strike in Lebanon

Prisoners were staging a hunger strike inside Lebanon's largest prison in an attempt to pressure the government to reduce their sentences, officials said.The hunger strike involving 92 inmates at Roumieh prison started Thursday, The Daily Star, Beirut, reported. The inmates want the government to reduce the prison year from 12 to nine months.Similar strikes have been staged in recent months since the government rejected a bill allowing prisoners to seek shorter sentences. Prison riots earlier this year sparked by protests over living conditions resulted in the deaths of at least four people, the newspaper said.Roumieh prison, which was built to house about 1,500 prisoners, presently holds more than 5,000 inmates.