The incident occurred over the weekend when an inmate stole a set of keys from a prison warder. The police officer whose keys were confiscated by the prisoners was lucked inside a cell, according to the UN Mission in Liberia, UNMIL, before the dozens of detainees moved into the prison yard from where they tried to scale over the perimeter fence of the facility.

However, the would-be escapees were intercepted by Jordanian troops who are part of the Jordanian contingent of UNMIL. The Jordanians were joined by some Liberian police officers and other prison staff to help contain the prisoners.

According to the UN, several warning shots were fired into the air to deter the inmates and none were able to escape. Those who attempted to escape have since been relocated to other cells. The authorities say that at least 23 of them will be arraigned in court over the matter. They added that 12 of the Jordanian troops, two detainees and one prison ward sustained injuries during the operation, although the injuries were reported to be minor.