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International Red Cross Concerned About Guantanamo Hunger Strike


The International Committee of the Red Cross says it is concerned about prisoners on a hunger strike at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Spokeswoman Antonella Notari on Friday described the situation at Guantanamo as serious. She said the International Red Cross spent 10 days visiting with detainees in late September.

The prisoners have been fasting since August to protest their detention without charges or trial.

Human rights groups say more than 200 prisoners have refused food. U.S. authorities say fewer than 30 detainees are currently not eating. Twenty-two have been hospitalized and fed involuntarily through tubes.

The U.S. military is holding about 500 prisoners at Guantanamo. Most were captured in Afghanistan and are suspected of being members of al-Qaida or the former Taliban regime.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.

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