Democratic Republic Of Congo
Fifty prisoners escaped from a prison in eastern DRC after a fire broke out, a local administrator said on Friday.
“Those on the run include 20 convicted men. Two for murder and 18 for rape,” Desire Kubuya Masumbuko said.
Just one prisoner remained in the jail after the others took to their heels late on Wednesday and by Friday morning, none of them had been recaptured, Kubuya added.
The inmates broke out of a jail at Kamituga, which is 170 kilometres southwest of Bukavu, the capital South Kivu province.
Kamituga is a gold rich area and the economic capital of the Mwenga territory where security forces have had trouble dealing with armed groups.
Rape and killings are frequent in eastern Kivu provinces of the DRC, where there has been armed conflict over land and control of mineral resources for more than two decades.
Congo’s prisons are notoriously overcrowded and mismanaged making escapes common.
National and global human rights organisations regularly criticize detention conditions in Congo prisons.
Go to video
Over 100 inmates break free from a Nigerian prison after heavy rains
Go to video
Stanis Bujakera: Congolese journalist convicted of spreading false information to be freed
Go to video
DRC: 7 million displaced and “unprecedented” crisis, according to the UN
02:29
DRC: concern over the potential development of oil drilling
01:10
DR Congo: MONUSCO begins withdrawal, hands over first U.N. base to national police
01:09
'End support for M23 rebels, pull troops out of DR Congo' France tells Rwanda