Amid intense shootings in Guinea’s capital, Conakry, armed men released former dictator Moussa Dadis Camara from prison today. His lawyer told the AFP news agency. He left it open whether Camara was released or taken out of prison against his will.
The Minister of Justice, Charles Alphonse Wright, spoke of escape. “We will find them and hold them accountable,” the minister told a local radio station. The country’s borders were closed. The government emphasized that it had the situation under control.
“I have learned that there has been a release from a civil prison in Conakry concerning my client Moussa Dadis Camara,” said lawyer Jocamey Haba. Camara held power in the West African country between 2008 and 2009. Under his rule, the military killed more than 150 people and raped dozens of women at an opposition rally in September 2009.
Violent shootings in Conakry
Before the news of Camara’s release from prison, Conakry residents reported intense gunfire and security forces blocked access to the center of the capital. “There are shootings with automatic and military weapons,” witnesses told AFP. The district of Kaloum, the political and administrative center of the country, was affected.
In September 2021, official Mamady Doumbouya took power in Guinea, ending eleven years of civilian rule. This makes the country one of the West African states where a coup d’état has occurred since 2020, along with Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Gabon. Under international pressure, the military in Guinea agreed to hand over power to an elected government by end of 2024.