Inmates escape from one of Niger's most fortified prisons where jihadis are held

NIAMEY, Niger — Nigerien authorities enforced a curfew Friday as they searched for inmates who escaped from one of the country's most fortified prisons in the Tillaberi region after it was breached under unclear circumstances.

Niger’s Ministry of Interior alerted government agencies to the escape of the inmates from Koutoukale prison on Thursday night. It urged them to redouble vigilance, engage traditional and religious leaders, and look out for suspicious movements within the populations.

The interior ministry did not say how many inmates escaped nor how they fled. Considered one of the safest in the country, the prison, located 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of the capital of Niamey, holds hundreds of inmates convicted or suspected of jihadi violence that stems from neighboring Nigeria and across the wider Sahel region.

The Tillaberi government department immediately banned all kinds of movement. “Law enforcement will be deployed to ensure compliance with this measure and guarantee the safety of all,” it said in a statement on Thursday night.

Koutoukale prison was last attacked in 2019 when suspected jihadi fighters tried to break in but were repelled by security forces. A similar attack in 2016 was also repelled.

Overcrowding is a common problem in prisons across Niger with some holding more than three times their capacity, according to the U.S. State Department.

Niger, whose elected government was overthrown by a coup a year ago, has struggled to contain jihadi violence in its western region. The military junta in power has formed a security alliance with neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, also battered by conflicts in their territories.