At least eight people have been killed after gunfire erupted between security forces and inmates at a prison in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.
The confrontation broke out on Saturday at the city’s main prison when armed inmates attempted to escape, prompting an exchange of fire that left five prisoners and three soldiers dead, said Colonel Abdiqani Khalaf, spokesperson for the Somali army’s custodial corps.
“Violent elements tried to stir terror in the central prison,” said Khalaf.
Eighteen other prisoners and three soldiers were wounded in the incident, he said. No prisoners escaped.
Security sources said that the inmates who had attempted to escape were from al-Shabab, the al-Qaeda-linked group. Having obtained weapons, they had launched what appeared to be a well-orchestrated escape plan.
Somalia National Television reported that security sources had “concluded an operation”, in which “terrorists who were sentenced to death attacked prison guards”. The five slain prisoners were “terrorist inmates”, it said, posting on X.
Security forces have concluded an operation in #Mogadishu Central Prison where terrorists who were sentenced to death attacked prison guards. The security forces neutralized five terrorist inmates involved in the incident. pic.twitter.com/O6rEMKZJc4
— SNTV News (@sntvnews1) July 13, 2024
Locals reported hearing grenade blasts and gunfire. “There was an explosion inside the prison and a heavy exchange of gunfire followed,” Abdirahman Ali, a witness, told the news agency AFP.
“I called my brother who is a member of the prison guards, and he told me that several al-Shabab inmates secretly obtained weapons and grenades and tried to escape,” said Shuceyb Ahmed, another witness.
Al-Shabab has been fighting to topple the fragile central government in Mogadishu for more than 17 years, carrying out numerous bombings and other attacks in the capital and other parts of the country.
The government has joined forces with local armed groups to fight the al-Qaeda affiliate in a campaign supported by an African Union force and US air raids.
But the offensive has suffered setbacks, with al-Shabab earlier this year claiming it had taken multiple locations in the centre of the country.
