TUNISIA, March 21. /TASS/. Convicts started a riot in a prison in the Syrian governate of Aleppo, with several of them managing to escape, the governorate’s Public Security Department director has said.

The Sham TV channel cited him as saying that the prisoners had taken employees of the penitentiary hostage and seized their weapons. Following this, they "breached the prison’s walls and took control over it for some time." Security forces managed to suppress the rioters and regain control of the institution, but a number of convicts managed to escape.