The former leader of Guinea’s 2008 military junta, Moussa Dadis Camara, was liberated from confinement in Conakry during the early hours of Saturday by a group of heavily armed individuals, in an operation that also saw the release of three other senior officers. This development was confirmed by Justice Minister Charles Wright.
According to accounts from local residents, military vehicles and elite forces were deployed to patrol the streets of the Guinean capital following reports of gunfire in the Kaloum administrative district, where Moussa Dadis Camara and his companions were incarcerated at the Central House prison.
Camara and his associates have been undergoing a trial since the previous year, facing charges of being the alleged masterminds behind a stadium massacre and widespread sexual assault perpetrated by Guinean security forces, resulting in the loss of 150 lives during a pro-democracy demonstration that occurred on September 28, 2009.
Camara has consistently denied any responsibility, shifting the blame for the atrocities to rogue soldiers within the ranks.
At approximately 4 a.m. local time, residents residing in the proximity of Kaloum reported the audible discharge of gunshots, which subsequently led to an escalation in security measures within the vicinity. In response to the incident, access to the Kaloum district was curtailed, with heightened vigilance and restrictions imposed at the entrance to this administrative area.