In the early hours of Saturday, heavily armed men in Conakry orchestrated the release of Moussa Camara, the former leader of Guinea’s 2008 military junta, from prison.
As confirmed by Justice Minister Charles Wright, he was detained in the company of three other high-ranking officers.
In response to gunshots heard in the Kaloum administrative district, where Camara and fellow inmates were held at Central House prison, military vehicles and special forces were deployed to maintain order on the streets of the Guinean capital, as reported by local residents to Reuters.
‘It was around 0500 (0500 GMT) that heavily armed men burst into the Central House of Conakry. They managed to leave with four defendants in the trial of the events of Sept. 28 including Captain Moussa Dadis Camara,’ the minister said on the radio.
‘They will be found wherever they are,’ he said, declining to give further details of the investigation.
Read also: Gunfire Rocks Guinea Capital, Downtown Access Blocked
“He mentioned that Guinea’s borders have been sealed to keep the escapees from exiting the country,” he informed.
Camara and others have been facing trial since the previous year, with charges related to their alleged role in a stadium massacre and mass rape committed by Guinean security forces, resulting in the death of 150 individuals during a pro-democracy rally on September 28, 2009.
He has refused to accept responsibility and has accused wayward soldiers of the atrocities.
It was reported by residents near Kaloum that the first shots were heard at approximately 4 a.m. local time, leading to an enhancement of security on the streets and the blocking of the entrance to Kaloum.
The capital appeared serene by late morning, with several soldiers visible in specific areas and issuing instructions for residents to remain at home, relayed Mmah Camara, a resident of the Tombo district, in a phone conversation.
Mamady Doumbouya, a military leader, has been at the helm of Guinea since a coup in 2021, making it one of eight coups to have occurred in West and Central Africa in the past three years. Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Gabon are also under the rule of military officers.