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Heavy “automatic gunfire” was heard near the central prison in Kaloum, the administrative district of Conakry in Guinea, early Tuesday, witnesses told AFP.
The source of the gunfire and the identity of the shooter were not yet known. Important government buildings, such as the nation’s presidential palace, are located in Kaloum.
“I heard the sound of vehicles speeding by, so I rushed to the window and heard automatic gunfire,” said Thierno Baldé, an accountant who works in the area.
According to the prison’s neighbours, the shooting started just before 9:00 a.m. local time and continued for just over thirty minutes, during which time the neighbourhood was filled with the sound of rapid gunfire.
Later in the morning, a security cordon of police officers and special forces blocked access to the road leading to the prison, AFP reported.
An armoured vehicle belonging to the special forces was stationed in front of the facility.
Abdouramane Doukouré, a retired civil servant, said he was driving past the prison when the shooting started.
“I heard the gunshots. Because there was a traffic jam, we all rushed in different directions to escape,” Doukouré said.
Another resident who lives close to the prison said gunfire appeared to come from inside the facility, but “things have calmed down.”
The resident added, “But we don’t know for how long.”
The central prison in Guinea has previously experienced violent incidents. In 2023, armed commandos briefly removed former dictator Moussa Dadis Camara and three other former officials who were on trial for a 2009 massacre during his presidency from the prison, resulting in a jailbreak that claimed nine lives.
