Guantanamo Bay Hunger Strike Grows

More Guantanamo Bay detainees protesting their indefinite confinement joined a hunger strike, raising the number of those refusing food to 89 from 75, the U.S. military said Thursday.

Six of the hunger strikers at the isolated U.S. naval base in southeast Cuba were being force-fed, said Navy Cmdr. Robert Durand.

"All are being closely monitored by the ... medical staff and being counseled on the health effects of long-term hunger striking," Durand said in a statement from Guantanamo Bay.

The hunger strike is now the biggest of the year at the base, where about 460 men are being held on suspicion of links to al Qaeda or the Taliban. It comes amid increasing displays of defiance from the prisoners, who have been held for up to 4½ years — with many claiming their innocence.

On May 18, a detainee pretended to commit suicide to lure guards into a cellblock, where they were attacked by prisoners armed with makeshift weapons, the military said. Earlier that day, two detainees overdosed on antidepressant drugs they collected from other detainees and hoarded in their cells. The men have since regained consciousness.

The resurgent hunger strike began in August and peaked at 131 last fall, according to the military's count. The number of strikers declined to three earlier this year as the military used more aggressive force-feeding methods, including use of a restraint chair. The force-feeding is done through tubes inserted into the nose.

But last weekend, the number of hunger strikers suddenly ballooned to 75.

The military did not release the names of the striking detainees, and lawyers said they have no way of learning whether their clients are involved until they can visit the base.