Home International and Diplomacy Congo prison break riots kill 129 inmates as ‘warning shots’ fired into stampeding crowd
International and Diplomacy - September 3, 2024

Congo prison break riots kill 129 inmates as ‘warning shots’ fired into stampeding crowd

 

 

The horrific scenes played out in Congo’s main prison on Tuesday, with Congolese Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani confirming guards had been instructed to fire into the crowd of prisoners.

Congolese police and UN soldiers stand guard after an incident at the Makala jail in Kinshasa on July 2, 2013.

Congolese police and UN soldiers stand guard after an incident at the Makala jail in Kinshasa on July 2, 2013.

More than 120 prisoners have died in a horror jailbreak gone wrong in an African capital that say warning shots fired into crowds of lags as they tried to escape their cells.

At least 129 people died during an attempted jailbreak in Congo’s main prison in the capital, authorities said Tuesday, most of them killed in a stampede.

A provisional assessment showed that 24 inmates were shot dead by “warning” gunshots as they tried to escape from the overcrowded Makala prison in Kinshasa early Monday, Congolese Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani said on the social platform X.

Makala prison, Congo’s main penitentiary with a capacity for 1,500 people, holds over 12,000 inmates, most of whom are awaiting trial, Amnesty International said in its latest country report.

The facility has recorded previous jailbreaks, including in 2017 when an attack by a religious sect freed dozens.

Gunfire inside the prison started around midnight on Sunday into Monday morning, residents said.

A senior government official earlier said only two deaths were confirmed during the incident, a figure disputed by rights activists.

Earlier on Monday, videos purporting to be from inside the prison showed several bodies on the ground. Mbemba Kabuya, the deputy justice minister, told the local Top Congo FM radio that only two deaths were confirmed, a figure disputed by the opposition and human rights activists.

“The prison was not attacked from the outside. It was prisoners from wing 4 who attempted this escape,” Kabuya said.

The gunfire from inside the prison started around midnight, residents said. By Monday morning, the road leading to the prison had been cordoned off by security forces.

“Security services are on site to restore order and security (and) the population of Kinshasa is urged not to panic,” government spokesman Muyaya said.

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