The number of hunger strikers in the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay in southeastern Cuba, had grown substantially on Monday, a military spokesman said.

A further 75 hunger strikers joined the earlier three who had been refusing food and had been force-fed since last August, said the U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander J.D. Gordon.

Gordon said the hunger strikers aimed to gain media attention to pressure the U.S. to release detainees held there as enemy combatants.

As many as 74 of the new hunger striking prisoners were refusing food but accepting liquids, while one had been required to be fed by a forced-feeding system, added Gordon, noting that the system was safe and humane.

The U.S. military currently holds some 500 detainees at Guantanamo, most of whom were captured in Afghanistan, with many having been held for nearly four years without charges.

Source: Xinhua