'Warning shots' fired into stampeding crowd as Congo prison break riots kill 129 inmates

dailyrecord.co.uk:

More than 120 prisoners have died in a horror jailbreak gone wrong in an African capital. Warning shots were fired into crowds of lags as they tried to flee their cells in Congo’s main prison in Kinshasa - and at least 129 people have died during the attempted escape.Authorities said on Tuesday that most of them were killed in a stampede.

Congolese Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani said on social platform X/Twitter that a provisional assessment showed 24 inmates were shot dead by “warning” gunshots as they tried to escape from the overcrowded Makala prison early on Monday.As reported by the Mirror, Makala prison is Congo’s main penitentiary with a capacity for 1,500 people.

Amnesty International said in its latest country report that it holds over 12,000 inmates, most of whom are awaiting trial. The facility has recorded previous jailbreaks, including in 2017 when an attack by a religious sect freed dozens.

Residents said that gunfire inside the prison started around midnight on Sunday into Monday morning. A senior government official earlier said only two deaths were confirmed during the incident, a figure disputed by rights activists.