At least 250 prisoners in the Democratic Republic of Congo have escaped in a mass jailbreak at dawn in Bukavu, an official has told the BBC.<\/p>\n
Three people died, including a guard who was overpowered as the prisoners made their escape, the official in the South Kivu governor’s office said.<\/p>\n
Police are patrolling Bukavu, which is built on the shores of Lake Kivu in eastern DR Congo, looking for them.<\/p>\n
A resident told the BBC that people were hiding in their homes terrified.<\/p>\n
The BBC’s DR Congo correspondent Maud Jullien says jailbreaks are fairly common in DR Congo – at least 240 prisoners escaped in another eastern town less than a year ago.<\/p>\n
A police officer told the AFP news agency that prison wardens were overcome by the inmates who “took weapons and managed to open the prison door”.<\/p>\n
Residents say gunfire rang out in the early morning across the city.<\/p>\n
Civil society activists say the number of escapees could be higher as more than 1,500 inmates were inside at the time and officials estimate 80% of the prisoners escaped.<\/p>\n
DR Congo’s prisons are often overcrowded and living conditions for inmates are poor.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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