Maghaberry prison, near Lisburn, houses some of the most notorious paramilitary prisoners in Northern Ireland who seek a return to the segregated political status they enjoyed in the Maze prison, where they effectively ran their own wings.
In the second big paramilitary riot in two months, members of the Ulster Defence Association broke free from Maghaberry's exercise yard just before 8pm on Wednesday and began a 12-hour campaign of arson and violence which left 18 officers in need of treatment for shock and smoke inhalation.
About 35 prisoners torched an office, scattered bombs made from lighter fuel and laid siege to a dining room and recreational area. They smashed windows, ransacked furniture and attacked staff with slings made from snooker balls stuffed into socks.
After starting several fires, they broke up snooker tables, cookers, microwaves and fridges and barricaded themselves behind the debris.
Army experts were called to defuse a dummy pipebomb before the prisoners surrendered at 4am yesterday waving white handkerchiefs from behind a wall of broken snooker tables.
Maghaberry has recently seen a number of assaults on prison officers, and fights between loyalist and republican paramilitaries. Some guards have found pipebombs left outside their homes.
About £7m has been spent on modifications to segregate loyalists and republicans after pressure from republican prisoners who carried out a dirty protest. The separate blocks open next month but prisoners will not return to the freedom of the defunct Maze.
The apparently orchestrated riot was proof that a loyalist paramilitary command structure is in place inside the prison. One senior loyalist former prisoner told the BBC that inmates only wanted their "entitlements" and not to be used as pawns in the prison officers' appeal for more personal security at home.
Prison officers across Britain have threatened a 24-hour strike unless security is improved for staff in Northern Ireland. Up to £20,000 has been spent on security for each of the 1,400 staff whose details were discovered in the hands of the IRA in October 2002, but officers say they are still at risk of attack .
