AFGHANISTAN Inmates agree to halt uprising

The agreement was only temporary, but officials were optimistic.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Rebellious inmates at Kabul's main prison agreed Monday to halt violence, and authorities said they restored supplies of water, electricity and food to the prisoners after four people were killed and 38 wounded in the two-day uprising.
The supplies were withheld late Sunday from the roughly 2,000 prisoners in the facility, including women and their children, even though the violence was attributed only to some 350 Taliban and Al-Qaida detainees.
Although the agreement to stop rioting was only temporary, officials said they were optimistic about a breakthrough in negotiations with the inmates.
"The food, water and electricity has been restored. For the time being, I am optimistic. Everything is quiet. Let's see what happens tomorrow," said Abdul Salaam Bakshi, chief of prisons in Afghanistan.
Hundreds of police and soldiers circled the sprawling Policharki jail on the outskirts of the Afghan capital, Kabul, in tanks and with other heavy weapons late Sunday.
Gunfire rang out from inside the facility until late Monday, when news broke of progress in the talks. Within hours, truckloads of police withdrew. Many remaining soldiers lounged on the ground, sipping tea and smoking cigarettes as the tension eased.
The prisoners are believed armed with small knives and clubs fashioned from wrecked furniture, but do not have guns.
Sibghatullah Mujaddedi, the chief government negotiator, said the prisoners told him that "they would not launch any more attacks right now." He declined to elaborate.
"I promised them I would do my best to solve their problems, and they trust me," he told reporters outside the prison.
Mujaddedi said the negotiators reached an agreement with the prisoners for the wounded inmates to be taken to a hospital, but it was not clear when this would happen. He also said prison authorities were asked to help bury the dead inmates, but did not elaborate further.
During the talks, the prisoners made a range of demands, including an amnesty for an unspecified number of inmates, Mujaddedi said.
A purported spokesman for the prisoners called The Associated Press and demanded new trials for the inmates, claiming many were innocent or their sentences were too long.