129 killed in prison break attempt

An attempted jailbreak in Congo’s main prison left 129 people dead, including some who were shot and others who died in a stampede at the overcrowded facility, authorities said Tuesday.

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Activists said the toll was higher without providing a figure.

A provisional assessment showed that 24 inmates were fatally shot by “warning” shots fired by guards as they tried to escape from the Makala Central Prison in the capital of Kinshasa early on Monday, Congolese Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani said on X.

“There are also 59 injured people taken into care by the government, as well as some cases of women raped,” he said, adding that order has now been restored at the prison, part of which was burned in the attempted jailbreak.