More than 100 inmates have escaped from a prison in central Chad following a violent shoot-out that left three people dead and injured the state governor.
The jailbreak happened on Friday night at a high-security prison located about five kilometres from Mongo, a town in Guera province.
“There are around 100 who escaped, three dead and three wounded,” said Hassan Souleymane Adam, the secretary general of Guera province, in a statement to AFP on Saturday.
According to a local official who spoke on condition of anonymity, the chaos began when some prisoners forced their way into the manager’s office and stole firearms.
“A shootout with guards followed. It was during this that the governor arrived at the prison and was wounded,” the official explained.
The same source said a total of 132 prisoners escaped, and the violence may have been triggered by complaints over lack of food.
Chad’s Justice Minister, Youssouf Tom, confirmed the incident and said he was on his way to the area. “I will be able to give precise information once I am at Mongo in the coming hours,” he told AFP.
The government is expected to launch an investigation and security search to recapture the escaped inmates. The names of the dead or the condition of the wounded governor have not yet been released.
