Former Guinean dictator Moussa Dadis Camara was on Saturday broken out of prison by a heavily armed commando during an operation that sparked heavy gunfire in the capital Conakry.
A group of masked and heavily armed soldiers reportedly arrived at the prison at around 04h00UT and entered by force.
They declared they "had come to free Captain Dadis Camara", one source told the AFP newswire service.
Inside, the group headed towards the former leader's cell, appearing to already know its location, and took him and other detainees to an unknown location, the source said.
At least two other former officials currently on trial alongside Dadis Camara over a 2009 massacre during his presidency were also taken from the central prison.
It remains unclear whether Dadis Camara had escaped of his own free will.
Breaking🔴: Former head of the Guinean junta Moussa Dadis #Camara and at least two of his co-accused in the trial of the September 28, 2009 massacre managed, this Saturday, November 4 at dawn, to escape from the largest prison in #Conakry. pic.twitter.com/nwhUnMCLCl
— Samson Kasujja (@SamKasujja) November 4, 2023
'Life in danger'
According to Dadis Camara's lawyer, Jocamey Haba, "The attorney general confirmed to me that my client had been taken out of prison by heavily armed men," raising the possibility that he was taken against his will.
"I continue to think he was kidnapped. He has confidence in the justice of his country, which is why he would never try to escape," he added, referring to the trial against Camara currently under way.
The lawyer said his client's life was "in danger".
The sound of gunfire could be heard before dawn in Kaloum – a central district located on a peninsula that houses the presidency, several top government and administrative offices as well as the military headquarters and the main prison.
No flights have taken off from Conakry's international airport on Saturday morning as air traffic staff reportedly could not get to the airport from Kaloum, where they often spend the night.
In September 2021, Guinea underwent a coup when Colonel Mamady Doumbouya stormed the presidential palace with soldiers and overthrew civilian president Alpha Condé by force.
It has been led by the junta since.
Several Guinean news sites quickly reported that Saturday events were not another coup, but that a heavily armed commando unit had attacked the central prison.
#Breaking:
— ndimukoma (@MukomaIcho) November 4, 2023
Former #Guinea president Moussa Dadis #Camara is said to have escaped from prison during these intense gunfire exchanges. pic.twitter.com/3W4WWl3CWS
2009 Conakry stadium massacre
Dadis Camara has been detained since going on trial in September 2022.
He and about 10 other former military and government officials are accused over a 2009 massacre carried out by security forces loyal to the then-junta leader.
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 inquiry.
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.
The trial opened in September last year at the request of junta leader, Colonel Doumbouya.
After his coup, Doumbouya promised to rebuild the Guinean state and make justice his "compass".
