The number of hunger strikers has risen to 84 in a nearly five-month hunger strike in the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.(Xinhua/Reuters file photo)

    WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- The number of hunger strikers in the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has grown substantially since Christmas Day, the U.S. military said Thursday.

    Jeremy Martin, a U.S. military spokesman, said 46 prisoners at the facility for detaining foreign terrorism suspects joined the hunger strike last Sunday, increasing the total fasting population to 84 in a nearly five-month hunger strike.

    The detainees launched their strike in early August after the U.S. military reneged on promises to bring the prison into compliance with the Geneva Conventions, according to lawyers representing them.

    Detainees are willing to die to demand humane treatment and a fair hearing on whether they must stay at the prison, the lawyers said.

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