DRC says 129 killed in attempted escape from country’s biggest prison
Al Jazeera
Interior Minister Shabani Lukoo says 24 people were shot dead while others suffocated in the crowd.
Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have said at least 129 people were killed while trying to escape from the central Makala prison in the capital Kinshasa.
In a statement posted on X early on Tuesday, Interior Minister Shabani Lukoo said prisoners attempted the break out on Monday amid a fire that hit the building’s administrative buildings including the infirmary.
“The provisional toll is 129 dead, including 24 by gunfire, after warning,” Lukoo said in a statement posted on X, adding that some 59 people were injured.
He said there was “significant material damage.”
Lukoo said he was holding a “crisis” meeting with the defence and security services, but that calm had been restored.
