Two guards bashed in Tas prison incident

Two prison guards have been assaulted during a disturbance at Hobart's Risdon
Prison, barrister and prisoners' rights advocate Greg Barns says.
"Two prison officers have been assaulted in medium security," said Mr Barns, who'd
spoken to prisoners family members outside the jail.
The bashed prison officers have been taken by ambulance to Royal Hobart Hospital.
Their condition is not known.
Police and firefighters were called to the prison about 4pm (AEDT) in response to
alarms and reports of smoke coming from the jail.
Special operations police have taken up positions on the prison's roof.
A government spokesman said about a dozen medium security prisoners were refusing to
return to their cells, describing it as a "non-compliance issue".
Several loud bangs were heard coming from the prison about 7pm (AEDT), possibly
percussion bombs ahead of police moving in on the prisoners before nightfall.
Police had earlier cleared the area around the prison.
Mr Barns said riots and incidents like this didn't happen in a vacuum.
"One of the issues at the prison in recent months has been the impact of budget cuts
on prisoners and staff on weekends when they are getting poor quality food, lack of
recreational opportunities and early lockdowns."
Authorities are yet to provide more information.