Authorities in Niger have imposed a curfew in the restive Tillaberi region after several inmates escaped from a maximum-security prison known to be holding militants.
The incident took place on Thursday in Koutoukale prison, about 50 kilometres (31 miles) northwest of the capital Niamey, the Interior Ministry said.
Two other prison escape attempts, in 2016 and 2019, were thwarted.
Niger’s armed forces are overstretched by militant attacks in the West and the protection of the junta that came to power after a coup last year.
The ministry did not specify in its statement how many prisoners managed to escape in the latest breakout.
However, the perpetrators are also believed to include captured Islamist militants from the Sahel-based groups al-Qaeda and Islamic State.
Officials have imposed a curfew across the Tillaberi region and ordered heightened vigilance. The curfew restricts all movement of pedestrians, bicycles and motor vehicles.
Niger and its Sahel neighbors, Mali and Burkina Faso, are all under military rule and are battling increasing jihadist attacks.
At least 14 soldiers were killed and 11 others wounded on Monday in an attack by suspected jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda in the Tillaberi region.
The troops were ambushed between the villages of Ila Fari and Djangore. 24 soldiers are still missing.
The three military-led countries have all expelled French soldiers who were helping to fight jihadist groups there and have turned to Russia for military aid.
Thousands of people have been killed in the uprisings and more than three million have been displaced, creating a deep humanitarian crisis.
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