Afghan police fired on rioting inmates at a Kabul jail on Tuesday after the breakdown of a 24-hour ceasefire, prison officials said.

One person was killed and three injured as inmates tried to push down a prison gate.

Several bursts of gunfire were heard from Policharki jail on the eastern outskirts of Kabul after four UN vehicles drove out of the prison, Reuters reports.

A relative of Afghan prisoner, right, cries as a soldier of Afghan National Army looks on outside the Policharki prison in Kabul, Afghanistan,Tuesday. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
A relative of Afghan prisoner, right, cries as a soldier of Afghan National Army looks on outside the Policharki prison in Kabul, Afghanistan,Tuesday. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

At least five people have been killed and 41 injured since the rioting started late Saturday.

A day earlier, prisoners agreed to hand over the bodies of four inmates killed in two days of rioting and let 17 injured prisoners receive treatment.

Prison officials said the ceasefire included a plan to transfer 1,300 of the prison's 2,000 inmates to another cell while repairs were made to a damaged area.

Earlier Tuesday, trucks delivered mattresses and blankets to the prison, which was surrounded by dozens of military tanks and armoured vehicles.

Government officials blame al-Qaeda and Taliban sympathizers for fomenting violence at the prison, notorious for its high walls and crowded conditions.

Prison officials say the violence erupted when prisoners refused to wear new uniforms.