Four inmates belonging to Fatah al-Islam and a fifth man, a Sudanese national, escape from Ward ‘D’ in the Roumieh prison

Four Fatah al-Islam inmates that fought deadly battles with the Lebanese army in 2007 escaped Roumieh prison on Saturday alongside a Sudanese prisoner, the National News Agency reported.

"Four inmates belonging to Fatah al-Islam and a fifth man, a Sudanese national, escaped from Ward ‘D’ in the Roumieh prison" northeast of the capital Beirut, the NNA said. Troops had surrounded the notorious prison as helicopters flew overhead, it added.

Preliminary information said the Sudanese inmate is called Midhat Ahmed Khalil, while the four others belong to Fatah al-Islam.

Al-Manar reporter said that one of the inmates who have escaped Roumieh prison is sentenced to death for killing Lebanese soldiers.

The security forces have launched wide search operations by air and land.

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 dire conditions demand fairer treatment and general amnesty.

In the summer of 2007, al-Qaida inspired Fatah Al-Islam group led an uprising in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared two years ago. The fighting killed some 400 people, including 168 soldiers. The militant group is also accused of being behind twin bus bombings in a suburb northeast of Beirut which left three dead and close to 20 wounded in 2007.