Gunmen stormed the main prison in Guinea's capital early Saturday and freed former dictator Moussa “Dadis” Camara, the country's justice minister said, announcing the closure of the West African nation's borders.
The announcement by Justice Minister Charles Alphonse Wright came several hours after heavy gunfire erupted in the Kaloum district of the capital, Conakry.
Among the others who escaped were Claude Pivi and Blaise Goumou, Wright said.
“We will find them. And those responsible will be held accountable,” Wright told local Radio Fim FM.
Roads empty
Kaloum is located on a peninsula and houses the presidency and several top government and administrative offices as well as the military headquarters and the main prison.
Several witnesses told AFP news agency that the roads in the capital were empty and armoured vehicles stationed in several points.
Camara, who came to power in a 2008 coup d’etat, had been detained in connection with a stadium massacre during his brief time in power.
The killing of 156 people and the rape of at least 109 women started at a political rally in a Conakry stadium on September 28, 2009 and continued in the days that followed, according to a UN-mandated enquiry.
Return from exile
Camara - who himself came to power in a coup in December 2008 - and his co-defendants are charged with murder, sexual violence, torture, abduction and kidnapping.
They face life imprisonment if convicted.
He had lived for years in exile after surviving an assassination attempt before returning home in late 2021.
The West African country has been led since September 2021 by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya who took power in a coup after 11 years of civilian rule.
