Luc Gnago/Portal
Moussa Dadis Camara is accused of leading a massacre and gang rape during a pro-democracy rally in September 2009, an allegation he denies.
CNN –
Former head of Guinea’s 2008 military junta, Moussa Dadis Camara, was recaptured after escaping from prison on Saturday, the Guinean defense ministry said.
Camara was released from prison by heavily armed men in Conakry in the early hours of Saturday morning along with three other senior officials, Justice Minister Charles Wright said.
Two of the three senior officers – Moussa Tiegboro Camara and Blaise Gomou – were also recaptured, according to the Defense Ministry. The third officer, Colonel Claude Pivi, remains at large.
The defense ministry said the recaptured refugees were “safe and sound” and were sent back to the Maison Centrale de Conakry, a federal prison in Guinea’s capital.
“All security measures have been taken to find the last fugitive,” the Defense Ministry continued. “I once again appeal to citizens to continue to be able to go about their daily business freely.”
Local residents told Portal early on Saturday that military vehicles and special forces were monitoring the streets of the Guinean capital after gunfire was heard in Kaloum governorate, where Camara and others were being held in Central House prison.
“It was around 5:00 a.m. (1:00 a.m. ET) when heavily armed men entered the Central House of Conakry. They managed to leave with four defendants in the trial surrounding the events of September 28, including Captain Moussa Dadis Camara,” the minister said on the radio.
“They will be found wherever they are,” he said, declining to provide further details of the investigation.
Guinea’s borders have been closed to prevent refugees from fleeing the country, he said.
Camara and others have been on trial since last year, accused of orchestrating a stadium massacre and mass rape by Guinean security forces that killed 150 people during a pro-democracy rally on September 28, 2009.
Camara denied responsibility and blamed the atrocities on misguided soldiers.
Residents near Kaloum said the first shots were heard around 4 a.m. local time (12 p.m. ET), after which security on the streets was tightened and the entrance to Kaloum was blocked.
By late morning, the capital appeared to be quiet and many soldiers could still be seen in some areas ordering people to stay at home, Mmah Camara, a resident of Tombo district, said by phone.
Guinea is ruled by military leader Mamady Doumbouya, who seized power in a coup in 2021 – one of eight coup attempts in West and Central Africa in the past three years. Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad and Gabon are also ruled by the military.