Prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba clashed with guards who were trying to stop a detainee from committing suicide.

The fight happened yesterday in medium-security section of the US Navy base in Cuba as guards were responding to the fourth attempted suicide that day.

Family and friends of prisoner Omar Deghayes, from Saltdean, are now anxiously awaiting news of the 37-year-old, who has been imprisoned in the military jail for almost four years.

His brother Abubaker Deghayes said: "I had no idea this had happened."

Navy commander Robert Durand said detainees used fans, light fixtures and other improvised weapons to attack the guards as they entered a communal living area to stop a prisoner who was trying to hang himself.

Earlier in the day, three detainees in another part of the prison attempted suicide by swallowing prescription medicine they had been hoarding.

The attempted suicides and clash occurred on the same day the military transferred 15 Saudi detainees to their country, leaving about 460 prisoners at Guantanamo.

The detainees who clashed with guards were moved to higher-security sections.

Last Friday Miriam Wells, a reporter for The Argus was highly commended for her work on this newspaper's Justice for Omar campaign in Amnesty International's media awards, for the Nations and Regions category.