US Military Ending Gitmo Hunger Strike Updates
U.S. military officials at the Guantanamo Bay prison announced Monday that they will stop releasing daily hunger strike updates because they say the number of protesters has steadily dropped to a core group of 19 defiant prisoners.
For months, the U.S. military has issued reports each day listing the number of hunger strikers during one of the most sustained protests at the prison on the U.S. naval base in Cuba. The prison opened in January 2002 to hold "enemy combatants" in the early days of the war in Afghanistan.
Monday's statement from a Joint Task Force Guantanamo official said the number of hunger strikers has significantly diminished since a peak in early July, when 106 inmates had joined the strike out of a then total prison population of 166. There are now 19 inmates tracked as hunger strikers among the current 164 detainees, the U.S. military said. The tally has remained the same for almost two weeks.
"We believe today's numbers represent those who wish to continue to strike," said Army Lt. Col. Samuel House, a Guantanamo spokesman.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/us-military-ending-gitmo-hunger-strike-updates-20345198
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