129 dead in mass Kinshasa jail break, rapes and suffocation reported

texture of brown metal rods in a fence on the background of a green mesh of fabric

The Democratic Republic of Congo says at least 129 people died in a mass attempted jail break in Kinshasa.Of those, 24 “were shot after warnings”.The government also reported rapes and people crushed.

At least 129 people were killed during a weekend prison break attempt at the largest jail in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the interior minister said on Tuesday.

“The provisional human toll is 129 dead, including 24 who were shot after warnings,” minister Jacquemain Shabani said in a video message, adding that at least 59 others had been wounded at the Makala prison in the capital, Kinshasa.

His ministry said several people had been crushed or suffocated and a number of women had been raped.

Le lundi 2 septembre 2024, une tentative d’évasion à la prison centrale de Makala a causé des pertes en vie humaines et d’importants dégâts matériels.
Sur instruction de la Haute Hiérarchie, j’ai convoqué une réunion de crise avec les responsables des services de défense et de… pic.twitter.com/p9k93u8hyJ

— Jacquemain SHABANI L (@shabani_lukoo) September 2, 2024

Shabani said administrative and food-storage buildings had been destroyed by fire.

Witnesses told AFP gunfire had started at the prison at around 02:00 on Monday morning and lasted for several hours.

Daddi Soso, an electrician in his 40s living in the capital, reported seeing security force vehicles taking bodies away in the early hours.

The authorities gave no indication as to how many inmates had escaped or attempted to do so, but at mid-morning on Monday government spokesman Patrick Muyaya told national television the situation was “under control”.

This is a developing story.

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