Niger’s Interior Ministry has announced that search units have been put on high alert after a breakout from the high-security Koutoukale prison on Thursday. The facility, located 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of the capital Niamey, houses inmates that include Islamist militants.
The ministry’s statement did not specify the number of prisoners who managed to escape or the methods used in their escape. Koutoukale prison has previously thwarted jailbreak attempts in 2016 and 2019.
The prison population includes detainees from Niger’s ongoing conflict with armed groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State, as well as suspected Boko Haram insurgents. In response to the escape, local authorities imposed an overnight curfew in the urban commune of Tillaberi, situated in the same region as the prison. However, further details on the curfew or the escape incident were not provided.
Niger, along with its neighbors in the central Sahel region, is at the forefront of efforts to contain a jihadist threat that has steadily escalated since 2012, when al Qaeda-affiliated fighters initially seized parts of Mali. The insurgencies have resulted in thousands of deaths and have displaced over 3 million people, exacerbating a severe humanitarian crisis in some of the world’s poorest countries.
Melissa Enoch
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