Heavy gunfire in Guinea Capital; Former Coup Leader Freed
Guinean Justice Minister Charles Alphonse Wright has confirmed that heavy gunshots by gunmen in Conakry stormed the Capital’s central prison led to the freedom of Moussa “Dadis” Camara.
Justice Wright told Radio Fim FM after the reported gunfight several others were able to escape alongside Camara, including military figures Col Claude Pivi, a former Government Minister who is accused of also being involved in the murder of people at Conakry stadium, and Blaise Goumou.
The Justice Minister said gunmen stormed the central prison in the Conakry capital of Guinea on Saturday, November 4, 2023, freeing September 28, 2008 coup leader Moussa “Dadis” Camara.
He added that those escapees prisoners would be hunted and those responsible would be held accountable noting that the Country’s borders have been closed as the authorities hunt for them.
Moussa Dadis Camara is on trial for a 2009 massacre in Guinea which left at least 157 people killed. Tens of thousands had gathered at Conakry’s stadium to dissuade him from running for President when soldiers, police, and militia members opened fire at them.
Capt. Camara is charged with having command responsibility over the soldiers who carried out the alleged crimes.
He seized power in 2008 when long-time President Lansana Conté died, but he was ousted and fled the country not long after the Conakry killings and following an assassination attempt. But the 59-year-old had been living in Burkina Faso before returning to Guinea in September 2022 to face justice.
“There is gunfire from both automatic and weapons of war in Kaloum,” a witness from the area who preferred to remain anonymous told the French AFP news agency.
Kaloum is the political and Administrative heart of the seaside city of Conakry, where the Presidential palace and other official Administrative buildings are located. It is also where Moussa Dadis Camara, the former head of the 2008 military junta, is imprisoned alongside other soldiers.
The Center of Guinea’s Capital City of Conakry was sealed off on Saturday, witnesses said, as gunfire rang out near the Administrative heart of the City.
Military vehicles and special forces were seen on the streets, local witnesses told the Reuters news agency, adding that shots were first heard around 4 a.m. local time (0400 GMT).
Guinea is under military rule, one of several former French colonies in West and Central Africa that have staged coups in the past three years.
The most recent happened in 2021 when former French soldier Col Mamady Doumbouya led a rebellion against President Alpha Condé.
Figo Mansaray is a Liberian Journalist for over 10 years and currently working with Kukatonon Media Inc and AYV Media Empire.
Figo, a prospective Graduate at the University of Liberia can be contacted via +231777489052/+231881734014 and mfmansaray2015@gmail.com