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Guantanamo prisoners 'suspend hunger strike'

The US military has says most prisoners on hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay have resumed eating, temporarily suspending the strike.

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The US military said in a statement 99 of the 102 inmates listed as being on hunger strike had eaten a hot meal in the previous 24 hours.

A spokesman for Joint Task Force Guantanamo, Lt. Col. Samuel House, said he did not know what prompted the change.

“I cannot speculate on what their intent is,” he said. “In my mind, it (the hunger strike) is not over.”

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Mr House says technically the detainees are considered hunger strikers because the military requires several days of sustained eating and a minimal caloric intake before a prisoner is removed from the list.

It was not clear whether prisoners intended to abandon completely the protest that has continued at Guantanamo for more than four months.

Prison officials issued a "pardon" that erased the men's accumulated disciplinary infractions and permitted many of them to pray together this week after having spent recent weeks largely isolated from each other.

Navy Captain Robert Durand declined to speculate about whether the hunger strike might flare again after Ramadan.

"We are just pleased that they are for the most part eating and for the most part we are having good order and discipline in the camps," he said.


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