“At dawn...31 detainees managed to escape” from a detention centre in the Adlieh district of the capital Beirut, the Internal Security Forces said in a statement.

“Immediate orders were given to arrest them and investigations are underway.”

The detainees broke past a prison window using a saw smuggled into the facility, said a judicial official close to an investigation into the incident.

“The escapees include Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians, among other foreigners,” he said on condition of anonymity.

Yesterday morning, security forces and army personnel were deployed in the Beirut neighbourhood housing the jail.

The Adlieh detention centre was formerly controlled by Lebanon’s General Security agency but is now managed by the country’s prison authority.

Bassam al-Kantar of Lebanon’s National Human Rights Commission said the facility was among the country’s worst, suffering from overcrowding, foul sewage smells and lack of ventilation and sunlight.

“Detainees are malnourished...and are not allowed to receive food from their families,” he said.

“Healthcare is also non-existent, with a large number of detainees suffering from skin diseases,” mainly due to lack of hygiene measures in the facility, he added.