LIVE UPDATES
Niger’s Interior Ministry on Friday announced a breakout from the high-security Koutoukale prison on Thursday.
The ministry added that heightened search and probe was ongoing following the escape of inmates from the prison.
The facility, located 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of the capital Niamey, houses inmates that include Islamist militants.
While the specific number of prisoners who escaped remains unknown based on the ministry statement, 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 neighbours 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 displaced over 3 million people, exacerbating a severe humanitarian crisis in some of the world’s poorest countries.
