2023 Nouakchott prison break

The 2023 Nouakchott prison break was the result of a prison riot in the Nouakchott Civil Prison, the central prison of Mauritania. Four AQMI members managed to escape from the Nouakchott civil prison, leading to Nouakchott enter a high-alert situation for the next days.

2023 Nouakchott prison break
Part of Islamist insurgency in the Sahel
Date5 March 2023 (2023-03-05)
21:00 GMT
Location
Nouakchott Civil Prison, Tevragh Zeina, Nouakchott-Ouest, Mauritania
18°5′10.1″N 15°57′49.07″W
Status
  • Prison break successful
  • Security forces regain control of the prison
  • Ongoing search operation
  • Mobile internet access restricted in the country
Belligerents

 Mauritania

 Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb prisoners
Strength
Unknown 4 prisoners
Casualties and losses
3 killed[1][2]
2 injured[1]		 3 killed[3]
1 detained[3]

Prison break

At 21:00 local time (GMT) a mutiny occurred at the Nouakchott Civil Prison, located in the Tevragh Zeina district of the city. During the mutiny two guards were killed and two others were injured as the mutiny was later revealed to be a prison break operation organised by Salafist convicts condemned for terrorism and belonging to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI), who were able to use fireguns after seizing one from the guards.[1][4]

The Gendarmerie Nationale proceeded to clear and restrict access to key buildings in downtown Nouakchott, including the Central Bank, the National Assembly and Radio Mauritanie,[5] while the Armed Forces restricted access to major streets of the capital and the Presidential Palace.[6] President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani was not in the country, as he was touring the Gulf Countries.[7][8]

At 23:00, news agencies confirmed that at least two Salafist prisoners managed to escape the prison following a confrontation with the guards who supervise the prison, with two being wounded. It was also confirmed that the Army deployed forces in the vicinity of the prison and government buildings, while the Presidential Guard forces surrounded the vicinity of the Presidential Palace.[9] Major military leaders also arrived to the prison shortly after.[10]

The number of fugitives was at first reported to be two, with it later increasing to three[11] and finally four after a statement from the Ministry of Interior, which confirmed that the authorities retook control of the prison and asked for citizens' cooperation in tracking down the fugitives.[12]

Fugitives
  • Saleck Ould Cheikh (born 1984 in Atar), a terrorist sentenced to death for planning an assassination attempt against ex-President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz through the 2011 Nouakchott bombing. He previously escaped prison in 2015 and managed to leave the country, with him being arrested in Guinea-Bissau and returned to prison in Nouakchott in 2016.[13][14][15][16]
  • Mohamed Rassoul Ould Chbih, a terrorist sentenced to death due to his participation in a 2008 AQMI terrorist operation known as the Tourine Operation, in which 12 soldiers were killed.[16][17][18]
  • Mohamed Yeslem Mohamed Mahmoud, in jail since 2020, sentenced to ten years for "attempting to join a group with the aim of committing terrorist crimes".[16]
  • Abdellarim Abubakr Siddiq Ebattna in jail since 2021, sentenced to seven years for "attempting to join a group with the aim of committing terrorist crimes" and "receiving training abroad".[16]

The Minister of National Defence, Hanana Ould Sidi, chaired a security meeting with top military leaders, including the chiefs of staff, which elaborated a plan to track down the fugitive terrorists.[14]

A car with one of its wheels broken allegedly used by the fugitive terrorists was found by security forces at around 23:30 in the El Mouqawama crossroad in the Dar Naïm suburb in north-eastern Nouakchott, with it containing a piece of a weapon inside. The Police and National Guard immediately cordoned off the location while waiting for the public prosecutor to arrive for its inspection.[19]

On 6 March 2023 the Gendarmerie opened fire at a car near the bridge connecting the Nouakchott–Oumtounsy International Airport to the Nouakchott-Nouadhibou road at around 8 am.[20] Security forces later raided a house in Dar Naïm at the evening and detained two individuals.[21]

Aftermath

Security measures adopted

The country's borders were reinforced, especially in the southern border posts of Rosso and Diama. Security checks were increased, with ID controls and checks being done to all crossers, leading to a significantly slower border.[22]

Suspension of services

The Lycée Français Théodore Monod suspended its classes and cancelled a school trip to Adrar due to orders from the French embassy, with the school expecting to re-open its doors on Tuesday 7 March.[23][24][25]

The American International School of Nouakchott was also closed on 6 March 2023 due to orders from the US embassy.[26]

Mobile internet disruption

A major national internet disruption to mobile data services happened shortly after,[27] starting on 6 March at 10 am[28] and with fixed internet connections not being affected.[29] The disruption was observed by NetBlocks.[28][30] According to Nasser Weddady, the disruption was voluntarily done by the three mobile operators of the country and it at first only covered the city of Nouakchott,[31] although it later extended to the rest of the country.[32] Weddady suggested that this disruption did three things: it made it harder to communicate on encrypted messaging apps and to transfer money using mobile banking apps (but not impossible as some allow transfers on GSM) and it helped the government control the media narrative.[33]

Mobile internet access was restored six days later.[34][35]

Victims

A funeral for the two dead guards was held on the next morning at the Ibn Abass Mosque of Nouakchott, located just next to the prison.[36]

The Ministers of Justice, Defence and Interior visited the other two injured guards, with the ministers also meeting with a number of family members of the two guards that were killed.[37]

Reactions

Embassies
  •  France: The French Embassy in Nouakchott urged French citizens residing in Nouakchott to avoid the Dar Naïm neighbourhood.[38]
  •  United States: The US Embassy in Nouakchott urged French citizens residing in Nouakchott to avoid the Dar Naïm neighbourhood, with it considering the whole city of Nouakchott as a dangerous area. The embassy also announced that its building is open, with the adoption of remote work in most cases.[26][39]

Political parties
  • The Rally of Democratic Forces condemned the assassination of the guards and considered the prison break as "a terrorist act". The RFD also described the situation as "dangerous" and "its solidarity and support for the armed and security forces in confronting these events".[40]
  • The National Rally for Reform and Development condemned what it described as a "terrorist incident" and "treacherous criminal operation", and denounced "what it might lead to affecting the public peace of society". In a statement, a copy of which was received by the Al Akhbar, the party stated that "the sanctity of infallible blood, and the danger of making it easy for it to be permissible, regardless of the motives and justifications", adding that "the correct Islamic approach is based on mediation, moderation, calling people with wisdom and good preaching, and education on the principles of the correct faith as the ancestors were brought up on". The party also called for the perpetrators to be punished and considered the killed guards "martyrs performing their duty in guarding a public facility with all honor and sincerity.[41]
  • The Hope Mauritania coalition condemned the escape of the Salafist prisoners, calling for them to be tracked down and held accountable and offered their condolences "to the families of the two martyrs, their relatives, the National Guard, and all the Mauritanian people". The coalition also called on the government to "compensate those affected by the internet outage, especially small business owners".[42]

References
  1. "Four jihadists escape in deadly Mauritania prison break". France24. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  2. Chemmad, Sidi Mohamed (12 March 2023). "في جنازة رسمية.. مئات الموريتانيين يودعون شهيد الدرك" [At an official funeral... hundreds of Mauritanians bid farewell to the martyr of the gendarmerie]. SaharaMedias (in Arabic). Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  3. "Three escaped jihadist prisoners killed in Mauritania: govt". France24. 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  4. "مقتل حرسيين وإصابة اثنين في إطلاق نار نفذه سجناء سلفيون فارون" [Two guards were killed and two wounded in a shooting carried out by fleeing Salafist prisoners]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 5 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  5. "تمرد بالسجن المدني في نواكشوط والحرس يغلق المباني الحكومية بالمنطقة" [Mutiny in the Civil Prison in Nouakchott, the [National] Guard closes government buildings in the area]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 5 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  6. "آليات عسكرية للجيش تغلق محيط القصر الرئاسي وشوارع رئيسية" [Military vehicles of the Army close the vicinity of the Presidential Palace and main streets]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 5 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  7. "President of Republic Arrives in Doha". AMI (Mauritanian News Agency). 4 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  8. "President of Republic Arrives in Abu Dhabi". AMI (Mauritanian News Agency). 5 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  9. "فرار اثنين من السجناء السلفيين وإصابة حرسيين" [Two Salafist prisoners escape and two guards are wounded]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 5 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  10. "قادة عسكريون يصلون مبنى السجن المدني في نواكشوط" [Military leaders arrive at the building of the Civil Prison in Nouakchott]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 5 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  11. "مدانان في عمليتي لمغيطي ونواكشوط أبرز الفارين من السجن" [Two convicts from the Lamghiti and Nouakchott operations, the most prominent prison escapees]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 5 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  12. "وزارة الداخلية: يجري تعقب إرهابيين اعتدوا على العناصر المكلفة بحراسة السجن المركزي بنواكشوط" [Ministry of the Interior: Terrorists who attacked the personnel in charge of guarding the central prison in Nouakchott are being pursued]. AMI (Mauritanian News Agency) (in Arabic). 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  13. "Sanctions List Search, Saleck Ould Cheikh MOHAMEDOU". sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov. Office of Foreign Assets Control. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  14. "خطة لمطاردة السجناء الفارين وتخفيف الطوق الأمني عن السجن" [A plan to chase the escaped prisoners and ease the security cordon on the prison]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  15. Ould El Hassan, Ahmedou (6 March 2023). "السالك ولد الشيخ.. مقاتل شرس فر مرتين من سجون موريتانيا" [Saleck Ould Cheikh... a fierce fighter who escaped twice from Mauritanian prisons]. SaharaMedias (in Arabic). Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  16. "فرار أربعة مدانين بالإرهاب من السجن المدني بنواكشوط" [Four terrorist convicts escape from the civil prison in Nouakchott]. SaharaMedias (in Arabic). 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  17. "مقتل 12 عسكريا في هجوم على دورية موريتانية" [12 soldiers were killed in an attack on a Mauritanian patrol]. Al Jazeera (in Arabic). 16 September 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  18. "UPDATE 1-Mauritania seeks aid against al Qaeda after killings". Reuters. 20 September 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  19. "العثور على سيارة استقلها سلفيون بعد الفرار من السجن بنواكشوط" [A car in which Salafis rode after escaping from prison in Nouakchott was found]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 5 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  20. "الحرس الرئاسي يطلق النار على سيارة قرب جسر المطار" [The Presidential Guard shoots a car near the airport bridge]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  21. "قوة أمنية تداهم منزلا في دار النعيم وتعتقل شخصين" [A security force raided a house in Dar Naïm and arrested two people]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  22. "بعد فرار سجناء "القاعدة".. تشديد الإجراءات عند الحدود" [After the escape of Al Qaeda prisoners, tightening of procedures at the borders]. SaharaMedias (in Arabic). 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  23. "المدرسة الفرنسية تلغي رحلة للتلاميذ إثر فرار سجناء سلفيين" [The French school cancels a trip for students following the escape of Salafist prisoners]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  24. "Avis à Tous les parents: Information sur la fermeture de l'établissement" [Notice to All parents: Information on the closure of the establishment] (in French). Lycée Français Théodore Monod. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  25. "En raison des récents événements, le voyage dans l'Adrar est reporté à une date ultérieure" [Due to recent events, the trip to Adrar is postponed to a later date.] (in French). Lycée Français Théodore Monod. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  26. "Security Alert: U.S. Embassy Nouakchott (March 06, 2023)". U.S. Embassy in Mauritania. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  27. "اضطراب في خدمة إنترنت الهواتف تزامنا مع فرار سجناء" [Disruption in mobile internet service, coinciding with the escape of prisoners]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  28. "Mobile internet disrupted in Mauritania following prison break". NetBlocks. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  29. "قطع الإنترنت يعطل العمل بالتجارة الألكترونية في موريتانيا" [Internet shutdown disrupts e-commerce work in Mauritania]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  30. NetBlocks [@netblocks] (6 March 2023). "⚠️ Confirmed: Metrics show a significant decline in internet traffic in #Mauritania amid a widespread disruption to mobile data services; the incident comes as users seek to go online to learn about the violent escape of four prisoners in #Nouakchott" (Tweet). Retrieved 6 March 2023 – via Twitter.
  31. Weddady, Nasser [@weddady] (6 March 2023). "🇲🇷 Mauritania: mobile internet services have been shutdown in Nouakchott at least. While there's no official confirmation, most likely this is part of the nationwide manhunt to capture the escaped convicted terrorists" (Tweet). Retrieved 6 March 2023 – via Twitter.
  32. Weddady, Nasser [@weddady] (6 March 2023). "🇲🇷 Mauritania: indeed the voluntary disruption of Mauritania's mobile internet (all 3 providers) is confirmed by @netblocks to be nationwide" (Tweet). Retrieved 6 March 2023 – via Twitter.
  33. Weddady, Nasser [@weddady] (6 March 2023). "🇲🇷 Mauritania the voluntary disruption of mobile internet services does 3 things: – Makes it harder to communicate on encrypted apps – Makes it harder to transfer money using ubiquitous bank apps but not impossible as some allow transfers on GSM – Controlling the narrative" (Tweet). Retrieved 6 March 2023 – via Twitter.
  34. Chemmad, Sidi Mohamed (12 March 2023). "موريتانيا.. عودة الإنترنت بعد أسبوع من الانقطاع" [Mauritania.. Internet returns after a week of interruption]. SaharaMedias (in Arabic). Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  35. NetBlocks [@netblocks] (12 March 2023). "Update: Mobile internet has been restored in #Mauritania almost a week after service was cut amid a prison riot and prisoner escape in the capital; the fugitives have now been killed or apprehended per reports; incident duration 6 days 📈" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 March 2023 – via Twitter.
  36. "إقامة صلاة الجنازة على حرسيين قتلا خلال عملية فرار سجناء سلفيين" [Funeral prayers for two guards who were killed during the escape of Salafist prisoners]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  37. "وزراء العدل والدفاع والداخلية يزورون الحرسيين المصابين" [The Ministers of Justice, Defense and Interior visit the injured guards]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  38. "سفارة فرنسا تدعو رعاياها لتجنب مقاطعة دار النعيم" [The French Embassy invites its nationals to avoid the department of Dar Naïm]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  39. "نواكشوط: إغلاق مؤسسات تعليمية فرنسية وأمريكية وتحذيرات للرعايا" [Nouakchott: Closure of French and American educational institutions and warnings to nationals]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  40. "هروب "السلفيين".. التكتل يدين مقتل الحرسيين ويصف الوضع بـ"الخطير"" [The escape of the "Salafists"... The RFD condemns the killing of the guards and describes the situation as "dangerous"]. SaharaMedias (in Arabic). 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  41. ""تواصل" يشجب حادث السجن الإرهابي ويطالب بمعاقبة الجناة" ["Tewassoul" condemns the terrorist prison incident and demands that the perpetrators be punished]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  42. ""تحالف أمل موريتانيا" يطالب بتعويض المتضررين من انقطاع الانترنت" [The "Hope Mauritania" coalition demands compensation for those affected by the internet outage]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 9 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
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