Military spokesmen have confirmed that they are now force-feeding 35 captives in the ever-growing hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay, a strike which is encompassing well over half of the prison’s overall population and has been ongoing for in excess of 100 days.

Exactly how many detainees are striking seems to be a growing matter of dispute, even among the military, with the spokesmen openly admitting that even though the official number would remain at 103, it was only because they are “not allowed” to include certain captives on that list, even if they are among the force-fed.

The Pentagon has added large amounts of medical staff to the facility in an attempt to prevent any deaths, but with many of the longest strikers in failing health for weeks now, the first deaths seem to be only a matter of time.

That strike began in February after prison forces seized several detainees’ Qur’ans. Since then the military spent months downplaying the strike, and it was only after a violent crackdown on detainees that they finally admitted the number of strikers included most of the detainees.