UPDATE - Ex-Guinean leader Moussa Camara rearrested after brief jailbreak

UPDATES WITH CAPTURE OF EX-LEADER, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – Former Guinean leader Moussa Camara who had escaped from prison in the country’s capital Conakry in apparent jailbreak was rearrested and taken back to prison late Saturday, authorities announced.

Earlier on Saturday an official said Camara had escaped along with two other prisoners, Claude Pivi and Blaise Goumou.

But a statement by the army’s chief of general staff, Gen. Ibrahima Sory Bangoura said only one prisoner remains on the run.

Security authorities “put an end to the escape of prisoners Moussa Camara and Blaise Goumou and all security measures are being taken to find the last fugitive, Claude Pivi.”

Gen. Bangoura, described the escape attempt as an attempt to “sabotage” government reforms and the army vowed its “unwavering commitment” to the ruling junta leader Col. Mamady Doumbouya, who seized power in Sep. 2021.

Justice Minister Charles Alphonse Wright had said Camara’s escape from the main prison in the capital Conakry was made possible after gunmen stormed the prison facility.

“We will find them. And those responsible will be held accountable,” Wright told reporters.

Announcing the closure of the West African nation's borders, Wright said Camara escaped along with two other prisoners, Claude Pivi and Blaise Goumou.

The escape came several hours after heavy gunfire erupted in the Kaloum district of the capital.

However, his lawyer, Jean-Baptiste Jocamey Haba, said an escape attempt by his client was out of the question.

“The man I've known for all these years, who insisted he was tired all the time, can't run away. All indications are that he has been abducted and that his safety is in danger,” Haba told local news portal africaguinee.

Camara took power in a 2008 coup and had been detained in connection with a stadium massacre which occurred during his brief rule.

The Sep.28, 2009 incident which started at a political rally in Conakry led to the killing of 156 people and the rape of at least 109 women, according to a UN-mandated inquiry.

Camara and his co-accused face multiple charges including murder, sexual violence, torture, abduction and kidnapping.

He lived for years in exile after surviving an assassination attempt and returned home in late 2021.