Prison break: Four militants escape in Mauritania

 

The Interior Ministry reported that four militant inmates managed to escape on Sunday night in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, following a shooting incident at the country's main jail that claimed the lives of two national guards.

A statement from the ministry was sent by the official news agency early Monday. "The National Guard has reinforced its control over the prison and promptly started tracking down the fugitives in order to arrest them as quickly as possible," the statement read.

It also claimed that two guards were hurt. The names of the inmates who escaped were kept a secret.

The ministry requested citizens to report any information that would help in apprehending the fugitives after their escape, which it claimed occurred at 9:00 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Sunday.

A military officer who spoke on the record under the condition of anonymity said that two of the convicts had received death sentences, while the other two were still in the process of being tried for terrorism-related offenses.

He added that their car had been discovered in the region northeast of Nouakchott.

Since 1987, Mauritania has not used the death penalty.

Moreover, since 2011, there haven't been any militant strikes in Mauritania, although the nation shares a border with Mali, where a 2012-starting conflict by militants has expanded to neighboring Sahel nations.