Niger prisons
22 escape in Niger prison
Twenty-two inmates in 2013 escaped from the main prison in Niger’s capital during an attack by suspected Islamist militants. Three guards were killed in the process. Sources said that weapons had been smuggled into the jail. The prison break came days after Islamists claimed responsibility for twin suicide attacks on a military base and uranium mine that killed 25 people. Officials told the BBC that the prison break started when a prisoner grabbed a gun from a guard and shot dead three guards and a civilian. The Islamist militants who were stationed outside the prison then opened fire with some entering the building to aid the release of their colleagues.
