GUINEA-BISSAU: Guinea’s former military government leader Moussa Dadis Camara was recaptured and back in prison, his lawyer said, denying that the ex-leader had willingly participated in a jailbreak hours earlier and saying instead that he had been kidnapped by armed men.
In a post on Facebook, lawyer Pepe Antoine Lamah said Camara was back in the Central House prison in the capital Conakry.
Earlier on Saturday, Camara was taken from prison by a heavily armed commando during an operation that sparked heavy gunfire in Conakry, a minister and lawyers had said.
At least two other former officials currently on trial alongside Camara over a 2009 attack on civilians during his presidency were also taken from the central prison, they said.
Heavily armed men assaulted the prison as the attackers managed to overpower the guards and free Camara, judicial sources told the news agency, dpa.
The prison was eventually secured by military vehicles and the government emphasised that the situation was under control.
Guinea’s Justice Minister Alphonse Charles Wright told local media that one of Camara’s escaped allies was captured and that the borders had been closed.
It was unclear whether Camara had escaped of his own free will.