Guinea’s high profile manhunt has come to an end after ex junta head Moussa Dadis Camara was found and later returned to jail following Saturday’s apparent jailbreak.
Armed men had earlier stormed a Conakry prison where he was being held and took away the former military head of state and three other inmates identified as Captain Claude Pivi, Colonel Moussa Tiégboro Camara and Captain Blaise Goumou.
It is not clear whether they were freed or kidnapped by the attackers who have not been named.
A heavy barrage of gunfire was heard in the city during the apparent jailbreak.
It was reported that Dadis was spirited away from jail without his consent.
A few hours after the incident, authorities in Guinea have assured citizens that the trial over the mass killing of civilian protesters 14 years ago will still go ahead despite the apparent jailbreak.
The quartet are being tried for the September 2009 massacre of civilian protesters at a stadium in the Guinean capital.
Moussa Dadis Camara was head of the military junta which ruled Guinea at the time.
Reports suggest that Colonel Moussa Tiegboro Camara was the first to surrender.
Heavily armed soldiers have been seen in the main arteries and the road leading to central Conakry, in Kaloum, was barricaded by the security forces.
Resorting to social media, Justice minister, Albert Charles Wright called on Guineans to remain calm, assuring them that the course of justice cannot be derailed.
Beginning in September 2022, the trial over the 2009 massacre of civilians at a Conakry stadium has kept Guineans and the West African region in suspense.
Eleven in number, the accused, mainly made up of senior officials of the former junta including Moussa Dadis Camara, were paraded in court and led to revelations about the incident in which more than 157 people were killed by the security forces.
One hundred and nine women were also raped according to witnesses to the incident.
Former aide-de-camp to Moussa Dadis Camara, Aboubacar Sidiki Diakité known as Toumba blamed his former boss for the massacre.
Exiled in Burkina Faso before returning to Conakry for the trial, Guinea’s former military leader was to his chagrin placed under an arrest warrant.
During his court appearance, Camara had dismissed all accusations against him by Toumba Diakité and captain Marcel Guilavogui.
He claimed in front of Judge Ibrahima Sory II Tounkara, that he was the victim of a plot orchestrated by former President Alpha Condé, General Sékouba Konaté and their “protege” Toumba Diakité.
The first to appear among the accused, Captain Guilavogui was noted for his “memory lapses”.
But last July, he decided to speak, sparing his lawyer Me David Béavogui to appear in his defense.
Dadis Camara’s lawyers issued a complaint against Captain Guilavogui over attempted blackmail.
After a two-month break, the trial resumed at the beginning of October, with civil parties turn to appear in court.
The start to the trial coming a year after Conde’s overthrow by Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya has been hailed as a major step forward by human rights bodies.
APA