Guantanamo accused of 'cheating on numbers' over hunger strike

Guards in Guantanamo were accused of using the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to massage hunger strike numbers, after the US military claimed on Sunday that fewer than half of the inmate population are now on strike.

Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Sam House said 81 detainees were still refusing food as part of a protest that began in February. The official figure was down 15 from the previous day and 25 from a recent high of 106.

It raised the prospect that the hunger strike - which has put a spotlight on conditions in the camp - may be on the wane. But lawyers representing Guantanamo detainees are suspicious of the figures, with one leading advocate for the camp's closure claiming that the military were "cheating on the numbers".

On Friday, House raised the prospect that the number of hunger strikers could fall rapidly in coming days, saying that 99 of the then 102 detainees taking part had eaten a meal within the past 24 hours.

Guantanamo guards require several days of sustained eating before prisoners are taken off the list of hunger strikers.

It is not known if the apparent drop in numbers shows that the protest is cooling, or if inmates are taking a pause in the strike to coincide with Ramadan.