By Alusine Fullah

Heavy gunshots have been heard in Conakry the capital of Guinea this morning, 4^th November, 2023.  According to a local journalist from Conakry access to the city centre has been blocked by armed men and military vehicles are patrolling the streets. A local prison has been targeted.

A security official has told the BBC that the former head of state Moussa Dadis Camara is one of several prisoners who’ve escaped. He is currently on trial over the killings of 156 opposition supporters at a rally in 2009.

Guinea is currently under military rule, one of several former French colonies in west and central Africa that have staged coups in the past three years. The regional block ECOWAS has condemned the coups, saying they present a threat to the regions stability and security.

The Guinean justice minister Charles Alphonse Wright has just been on local radio. He says armed men stormed a prison in the capital Conakry at 5am on Saturday, releasing former head of state Moussa Dadis Camara and 3 others. The borders have been closed and a search launched.

Dadis led the 2008 coup in Guinea in the wake of the death of longtime leader Lansana Conteh. The former strongman, who was himself ousted 12 months later after a failed attempt on his life, has since been declared wanted for crimes allegedly committed by his regime in connection to a 2009 massacre of unarmed civilians.

Dadis became Guinea’s fourth head of state since independence when he took power following the death of Conteh, who had led the country with iron fist for 24 years. On 3^rd December, 2009, an aide to Dadis shot him in the head, leading to his evacuation to Morocco, where he was treated. He was replaced by his former Number 2, Sekouba Conate.