Riot at juvenile detention centre in Australia

SYDNEY, July 22 (AP): Several inmates were stabbed during a riot at an Australian juvenile detention center that ended after 21 hours with 20 arrests, police said on Monday.

The riot at the detention center north of Sydney started at 8.30 p.m. Sunday, Police Superintendent John Gralton said. Nine inmates surrendered by Monday afternoon but another 11 had not, he said.

Police later stormed the rooftop where the rioters were holding out and arrested them, a police statement said.

"With nightfall coming, due to safety risks for all involved, we decided it was time," Gralton told reporters.

The union representing the guards said inmates stole keys from an officer and took garden tools, including a hedge trimmer and shovels, from a maintenance shed. Public Service Association general secretary Stewart Little said the group targeted known sex offenders.