Sierra Leone jailbreak: More than 1,800 prisoners escape, police offer bounty on prisoners

Sierra Leone government officials said Sunday’s attacks on military camps, prisons and other locations in the country caused about 2,000 prisoners to escape.

Col. Sheku Suleiman Masakui, acting director of the Sierra Leone Correctional Service, said the attack lasted two hours.

About 1,890 inmates escaped from Pademba Road Central Prison after the attackers broke in, according to a situation report shared by prison officials with Reuters on Monday.

Recall that gunshots rang out in the capital Freetown and assailants caused panic in the West African country in the early hours of the morning.

The government blamed “rebel soldiers” who it said were repulsed.

In a statement on Monday, police urged the prisoners to return to prison and offered a reward to the public for details of the whereabouts of the escapees and attackers.

Meanwhile, the US government and the Economic Community of West African States condemned the military invasion.

In a tweet Sunday, the U.S. Embassy in Sierra Leone called for cooperation with government security forces and expressed strong disapproval of the jailbreak.

The United States said it affirmed its support for a “peaceful, democratic, and prosperous Sierra Leone.”

Source: dailypost.ng