Several dozen inmates have fled from a poorly secured prison in Comoros, slipping out through the main gate, officials disclosed on Thursday.
Authorities in the Indian Ocean archipelago revealed that 38 prisoners absconded from an overcrowded detention facility in Moroni, the capital, during a jailbreak allegedly orchestrated by a detained soldier.
“I didn’t even have time to perform the Eid al-Fitr prayer. The escape took place very early,” remarked Soilihi Ali Said, head of the prison service, referring to the Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan.
According to prosecutors, the escapees capitalized on lax security measures, resulting in no injuries during the incident.
“Negligence on the part of the security guards was the cause of the escape,” public prosecutor Ali Mohamed Djounaid told media.
“The fugitives took advantage of this negligence and got out through the main gate.”
Djounaid implicated a soldier, arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a football fan during a confrontation with security forces at a World Cup qualifier last year, as the alleged mastermind behind the prison break.
“The escape was instigated by the soldier who fired the shots at the Malouzini football stadium in Moroni that led to the death of young Fahad Moindze,” he said.
An investigation into the incident has been initiated, he added.
The soldier, along with the other escapees, remains at large, confirmed Ali Said.
Comoros, with a population of 870,000, frequently witnesses jailbreaks. The Moroni prison, designed for 90 inmates, was housing over 200 detainees, highlighting ongoing issues of overcrowding and substandard detention conditions.
