The Ministry of Justice has reported at least nine casualties in a violent prison break in Guinea on Saturday, during which a former president was briefly liberated, as revealed in a statement on Monday.
Armed individuals, heavily equipped, orchestrated the escape of former military ruler Moussa Dadis Camara and three other officials from a central prison early on Saturday morning, leading to the initiation of a nationwide manhunt by authorities.
By the conclusion of the day, Camara had been returned to Conakry’s Central House prison.
In a preliminary nationwide evaluation of the incident, the justice ministry stated that a total of nine bodies were discovered, which included three attackers and four members of Guinea’s defense force.
Six others were being treated for gunshot wounds in hospital.
Camara and several others have been undergoing trial since the previous year, facing allegations of being involved in a stadium massacre and widespread sexual assault committed by Guinean security forces. These events transpired during a pro-democracy rally on September 28, 2009, resulting in the deaths of 150 people.
He has disavowed any accountability and instead attributed the atrocities to rogue soldiers.