Dozens Of ISIS-Linked Armed Groups Storm Congo Prison: Two Policemen Killed, 800 Prisoners Flee

Prison illustration. (Unsplash/yoavaziz)

JAKARTA - Dozens of armed assailants managed to "free" more than 800 prisoners from a prison in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local authorities said on Wednesday, blaming Islamic State-linked militant groups.

Two police officers and a civilian were killed, while some facilities were damaged by fire during an attack on a prison in Butembo City, said Antony Mwalushyi, spokesman for military operations against armed groups in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo.

"The enemy was heavily armed and the number of members was at least 80. They managed to break through the prison and free all the prisoners," Mwalushayi told reporters, without saying how many prisoners escaped.

Prison director Brunelle N'kasa later told Reuters that only 58 of the 874 inmates remained.

Mwalushyi said he believed the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) were behind the attack. The Ugandan armed group has been active in eastern Congo since the 1990s, has links to ISIS, and is responsible for repeated massacres.

Separately, Butembo Mayor Mowa Baeki-Telly appealed to residents to help catch escaped prisoners.

"If there's an escape, he shouldn't be burned, don't kill him, bring him here to us, so we can put him back in prison," he told reporters.

It is known that escapees are common in Congo's overcrowded and unsafe prisons. In 2020, the ADF was linked to a prison break that released more than 1,300 inmates in the eastern city of Beni.