Fears of Mass Jailbreak by Islamists in Roumieh amid Rising Extremism in Lebanon

Security Forces are mulling ways to confront an expected mass jailbreak by Islamists in Roumieh prison's bloc B, media reports said on Tuesday.

According to al-Joumhouria newspaper, Islamists in the Roumieh could easily breakout of the facility due to its fragile infrastructure.

Sources considered that putting all Islamist inmates together in one bloc is “dangerous,” which facilitates their breakout.

Roumieh, the oldest and largest of Lebanon's overcrowded prisons, has witnessed sporadic prison breaks in recent years and escalating riots over the past months as inmates living in poor conditions demand better treatment.

The sources expected that Fatah al-Islam prisoners would flee the prison en mass, in particular in a time when the country is booming with the presence of extremists and terrorists.

There are around 190 Fatah al-Islam prisoners at the prison's bloc B.

The inmates were arrested in 2007 on charges of fighting or aiding the Fatah al-Islam fighters in Nahr al-Bared that lies near the northern coastal city of Tripoli.

The sources said that Abou Walid and Abou Suleiman and Ibrahim al-Atrash, who is the uncle of Sheikh Omar al-Atrash, lead Fatah al-Islam prisoners in Roumieh's bloc B.

Sheikh Omar al-Atrash recently confessed to transporting suicide bombers of different Arab nationalities to the al-Nusra Front in Syria.

The sources said that Fatah al-Islam leaders hold daily closed-circle meetings inside the facility, which drew the attention of the guards who fear that they are plotting a prison break.

However, Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbek said that the security situation in Roumieh prison is under control.

“Every prisoner seeks to break out of his jail,” Charbel told Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5).

He pointed out that the Islamist prisoners in bloc B have been arrested together.

Powerful blasts have largely targeted areas sympathetic to Hizbullah, which has dispatched fighters to battle alongside the Syrian regime against a Sunni-dominated uprising.

Jihadist groups believed to be linked to those fighting in Syria have claimed responsibility for most of the attacks, saying they will continue for as long as Hizbullah battles in Syria.

The explosions have created a climate of fear in the country, with residents increasingly nervous about unfamiliar cars and certain neighborhoods.