At least 9 killed in Guinea armed jailbreak on Saturday

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At least nine people were killed during an armed jailbreak in Guinea on Saturday in which a former president was briefly freed, the ministry of justice said in a statement on Monday.

Heavily armed men sprang former military ruler Moussa Dadis Camara and three other officials out of a central prison early on Saturday morning, prompting authorities to launch a nationwide manhunt.

Camara was back in Conakry’s Central House prison by the end of the day.

In a provisional country-wide assessment of the incident, the justice ministry said nine bodies had been found, including three assailants and four members of Guinea’s defense force.

Six others were being treated for gunshot wounds in hospital.

Camara and others have been on trial since last year, accused of orchestrating a stadium massacre and mass rape by Guinean security forces in which 150 people were killed during a pro-democracy rally on Sept. 28, 2009.

He has denied responsibility, blaming the atrocities on errant soldiers.