Ivory Coast: 5 injured in jail mutiny

5 guards were wounded in a mutiny in a major remand prison in Abidjan on Saturday.

Sergeant Christmas Yao told AFP, the inmates armed with Kalashnikovs attacked prison guards between 8:00am and 9:00am GMT. “They shot at us and we returned fire,” he said.

Witnesses reported hearing exchanges of fire between prisoners and guards, supported by the police and gendarmerie.

However, the prison administration has assured: “The situation is under control”.

The government is yet to comment on the unrest in a prison where inmates include personalities close to former president Laurent Gbagbo.