Last night, Sunday, 4 prisoners escaped from a prison in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, and today, Monday, the Ministry of the Interior said two security personnel were killed in the breakout incident, and the pursuit of the escapees continues. The terrorists managed to escape from the central prison in Nouakchott after they attacked the guards, leading to a shootout in which “two members of the National Guard” were killed and two others were wounded. The identity of the fugitives has not been released, but a French news agency said a military official, who requested anonymity, explained that two of the fugitives were sentenced to death and two others are awaiting trial on charges of belonging to a terrorist organization. . The same source stated that the authorities found the fugitives’ car in the northeast of Nouakchott.
The Mauritanian interior ministry said: “The National Guard has tightened control over the prison and immediately began tracking the fugitives in order to arrest them as soon as possible,” urging citizens to come forward with any information that could help in their apprehension. And the Anatolia news agency said that the army and police had deployed to the prison area, blocking the main roads in the capital, and security forces had increased their presence in the area of the main government buildings. In recent years, the Mauritanian judiciary has handed down death sentences to dozens of Salafi prisoners after they were charged with carrying weapons against the state, belonging to terrorist groups, and endangering the country’s security and stability.
