Mauritania: four jihadists escape from prison

Aerial view of Nouakchott in Mauritania.

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In Mauritania, four jihadists members of AQIM escaped from a prison in Nouakchott on March 5, 2023, after an exchange of fire which left two dead among the security forces.

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With our correspondent in Nouakchott,

In Mauritania, four Mauritanian terrorists, all members of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqmi), escaped from the large civil prison in Nouakchott on March 5, 2023, after killing two guards and injuring two others.

They would also have seized the weapons of the elements of the police to commit their crimes.

The four jihadists fled first from a vehicle which was located abandoned in a neighborhood in the suburbs of Dar Naim, northeast of Nouakchott.

The place was cordoned off by the police who launched a real manhunt in search of the fugitives.

Two of the fugitives took part in a series of terrorist attacks

The latter were part of 33 jihadists, some of whom were tried and sentenced to death in 2011 for terrorism.

Others are still awaiting trial in the large Nouakchott prison.

Among Sunday night's escapees, two were identified for having taken part in a series of terrorist attacks, including the one in 2008 which claimed the lives of a dozen soldiers.

It occurred in Tourine in northern Mauritania, not far from the mining town of Zouerate.

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• Mauritania

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