Chaos erupted on Tuesday at Roumieh prison, Lebanon’s largest prison facility, as several prisoners in bloc B of the building detained seven members of the security forces.

Chaos erupted on Tuesday at Roumieh prison, Lebanon's largest prison facility, as several prisoners in bloc B of the building detained seven members of the security forces, Naharnet news website reported.

The state-run National News Agency elaborated on the news, saying the troublemakers also set some of the prison's properties on fire.

On December 23, protests had erupted at Roumieh prison “after cellphones were confiscated from some inmates during an inspection of the prison and amid reports saying that some inmates will be transferred” to another location, NNA reported.

“The situation is tense at the juvenile ward and reports said inmates could be holding some prison guards hostage,” NNA had said.

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 some inmates are kept behind bars for several months without trials.