Authorities reported that the weekend prison break in Guinea resulted in at least nine fatalities, as armed commandos briefly removed former dictator Moussa Dadis Camara from incarceration, according to official statements on Monday.
The prison in the capital city of Conakry was violently breached by heavily armed men on Saturday morning, where they abducted Camara and three other former officials currently facing trial in connection with a 2009 massacre during his presidential tenure.
It remained unclear whether the group had left of their own accord or had been forcibly removed, as asserted by their legal representatives.
The armed forces labeled the operation as a bid to “disrupt” government reforms and declared their “unshakable dedication” to the current military-led administration.
Subsequently, both the military and Camara’s attorney confirmed his recapture and re-incarceration, but refrained from offering specific details.
Alongside Camara, two more of the captured individuals were returned to the prison, leaving Claude Pivi, the third person, still unaccounted for.
In a statement released on Monday, Prosecutor General Yamoussa Conte disclosed that nine individuals had perished in connection with the jailbreak commando operation.
Of the victims, three were suspected assailants, while the rest included four members of the security forces and two individuals, believed to be civilians, who were inside an ambulance.
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Media accounts had previously indicated that civilians inside an ambulance were struck during a gunfire exchange that occurred during the raid.
The Prosecutor General, through the statement, disclosed his decision to launch an investigation into Camara and the other three individuals, related to allegations of killing security force members and potential manslaughter charges.
Late on Sunday, the junta in the West African state, which seized power in September 2021, released a series of decrees, officially removing dozens of military personnel and prison administrative staff from their roles.
Camara, who is 58 years old, has been incarcerated since the initiation of his trial in September 2022.He, along with around 10 other former military and government officials, is accused in connection with a 2009 massacre perpetrated by security forces loyal to the leader of the junta at that time.
An investigation mandated by the UN has revealed that 156 people were killed, and a minimum of 109 women suffered from sexual violence during a political rally where opposition supporters had gathered in a Conakry stadium on September 28 and the ensuing days.
Camara, who assumed power through a coup in December 2008, and his fellow defendants are accused of offenses including murder, sexual violence, torture, abduction, and kidnapping.
A conviction may lead to a life imprisonment sentence.
The trial stands as a remarkable event in a nation that has been governed by authoritarian regimes for decades, with a populace accustomed to the security forces’ impunity.
Camara assumed power right after the death of Lansana Conte, who had served as Guinea’s second president after independence, ruling autocratically for 24 years.
After the massacre, a few months passed before Camara was removed from power due to a head injury sustained in a December 2009 assassination attempt by his aide-de-camp. He officially ceded power in the succeeding month.
He sought medical treatment in Morocco before going into exile in Burkina Faso, and he returned to Guinea last year to appear in court.
Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, a military leader, currently heads the country with a population of roughly 14 million. He orchestrated the seizure of the presidential palace, resulting in the removal of civilian president Alpha Conde in September 2021.
This nation is part of a group of West African countries that has encountered coups since 2020, alongside Mali, Burkina Faso, and, in the present year, Niger and Gabon.