Suspected Militants Escape High Security Prison in Niger

On July 11th, an unknown number of assailants escaped from Niger's Koutoukale prison in Tillaberi region, the nation's only high-security prison, which according to local press, holds "terrorist leaders of Boko Haram, the Islamic State or Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM)," an umbrella group of al-Qaeda affiliated militant groups..Army officers implicated in the attempted coups under former President Mahamasou Issoufou, relatives of former President Mohamed Bazoum, as well as civil and military personnel who were imprisoned after the country's July 26, 2023 coup, are thought to be housed in the facility..Currently, the total number of inmates in the prison as well as the names and number of escapees is unknown..What You Need to Know.Koutoukale prison lies just 40km northwest of the nation's capital Niamey, with Tillaberi region, the scene of increasing terror attacks from the likes of IS and JNIM since 2015. Most recently, in late June, 20 Nigerien soldiers constituting part of the Defense and Security Forces (FDS) were killed in Tillaberi's Tassia village by a "coalition of terrorist groups," according to the Nigerien government..In the immediate aftermath of the attack, the nation's Minister of State sent an order over a radio message to the Governor of Tillaberi to "put all search units on alert. Increase vigilance throughout the security system. Involve traditional chiefs and religious leaders. Sensitize the populations in the denunciation of any suspicious individual.".Likewise, the Managing Director of Tillaberi Commune announced the deployment of police to the area and put a 9:00 p.m. curfew in place regarding the movement of pedestrians, two-wheeled vehicles, and larger vehicles..Nigerien authorities, 48 hours after the escape, claimed to have recaptured a 'large number' of the escapees as well as the death of three. The authorities also announced the captured of two AK-47 rifles and one Type 80 machine gun. The full names and numbers of escapees remains unknown.