Reports say four militant inmates managed to escape on Sunday night during a jailbreak in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania.
“The National Guard has tightened its control over the prison and immediately started tracking down the fugitives in order to arrest them as soon as possible,” the ministry said in a statement published by the official news agency early Monday.
The statement also said that two guards were injured during the jailbreak. The identity of the detainees who escaped were not revealed.
Following the escape, which occurred at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, according to the ministry, it urged citizens to come forward with any information that could aid in the capture of the fugitives.
Two of the convicts had received death sentences, while the other two were still in the process of being tried for participation in a terrorist organisation, according to a military officer who spoke on the record under the condition of anonymity.
The same individual said that their car had been discovered northeast of Nouakchott. Since 1987, Mauritania has not used the death penalty.
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.
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