144 inmates dig out of jail

2008-04-20 09:00

Abidjan - About 144 prisoners, including 10 who allegedly helped stage a December attack against the ex-rebel New Forces (FN), escaped jail in Ivory Coast's second largest city Bouake, officials said on Saturday.

The breakout, which took place on Tuesday after the group apparently dug their way out of jail, was not discovered until the following day by a prison guard, said Tuo Fozie, head of security for the FN which control the central city of Bouake.

Another 30 prisoners opted not to escape, fearing "reprisals against their families," a local official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Some 10 soldiers who were arrested following a December attack against the FN's headquarters figured among the escapees, the official said, although Fozie did not confirm his claim.

The Ivorian government headed by President Laurent Gbagbo has blamed the attack on rebel leader Ibrahim Coulibaly who is currently on trial in absentia in Paris on charges of staging a failed coup in Ivory Coast in 2002. Coulibaly, who lives in exile, denies the charges.

The coup attempt triggered a war that divided the country in two. Last year, however, the rebels and Gbagbo's government signed a peace pact that led to FN leader Guillaume Soro becoming prime minister.

But the two sides have lagged in meeting many of the goals of the March 2007 treaty, and the country's electoral commission recently announced Ivorian elections scheduled for June would be delayed yet again.

- AFP