Guinea’s ex-military dictator Moussa Dadis Camara was broken out of jail in the early hours of Saturday by heavily armed men who stormed the Central House prison where he was detained in Conakry.

The sounds of gunfire first echoed through Kaloum, the administrative district where the prison is located, around 4:00 a.m., triggering heightened security measures in the area.

The entrance to the district was cordoned off, and witnesses recounted heavy patrol of special forces and regular military vehicles in the area.

Mr Camara has been in detention since 2022 with two other ex-senior-ranking military officers. Justice Minister Charles Wright said the former military leader and his cohorts were freed in the attack.

“Heavily armed men burst into the Central House of Conakry. They managed to leave with four defendants in the trial of the events of September 28, including Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara,” Mr Wright said during a radio broadcast. He also hinted at ongoing investigations but remained tight-lipped about further details.

By late morning, the capital displayed an outward appearance of calm, though the presence of armed soldiers in certain sections of the city persisted. They issued orders for citizens to remain indoors, underscoring the tense situation.

Guinea’s borders were promptly sealed to prevent the fugitives from leaving the country.

The individuals, including Mr Camara, had been on trial for nearly a year, facing charges related to their alleged involvement in a tragic stadium massacre and mass rape attributed to Guinean security forces during a pro-democracy rally on September 28, 2009, in which 150 people died. Mr Camara has continued to deny any responsibility, placing blame on errant soldiers.

Guinea had been under the governance of military leader Mamady Doumbouya since a coup in 2021, part of a broader trend in West and Central Africa, where military officers had assumed power in eight separate instances over the past three years. Notably, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Gabon were also under military rule during this period.