Sri Lankan officials say guards opened fire during clashes with inmates at a prison in the capital Tuesday, wounding at least 19 prisoners.

Officials said that the guards had been deployed to respond to the inmates, who had started a fire in the prison.

The French news agency reported that the violence occurred at Colombo's Magazine prison and that the prisoners were protesting poor food quality and overcrowding.

In 2010, more than 50 police and prison officials were injured at Sri Lanka's Welikada jail when inmates resisted a search for narcotics and other prohibited items.