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AN ATTEMPTED jailbreak in Congo’s main prison has left 129 people dead, authorities said today.
A provisional assessment showed that 24 inmates, who were trying to escape from the Makala Central Prison in the capital Kinshasa, were killed by “warning” gunshots fired by guards early on Monday, Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani said.
Others also died in a stampede at the overcrowded facility, it is understood.
“There are also 59 injured people taken into care by the government, as well as some cases of women raped,” Mr Shabani said.
He added that order has now been restored at the prison, part of which was burned in the attempted jailbreak.
The prison holds both male and female inmates.
It was not known if all 129 fatalities were inmates, and it was not clear how the stampede occurred.
Makala is Congo’s largest prison with a capacity for 1,500 people and holds over 12,000 inmates, most of whom are awaiting trial, according to Amnesty International.
