It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the shooting or what sparked it on Tuesday, and authorities had yet to comment

Sustained gunfire was heard near the central prison in Guinea’s capital, Conakry, according to media reports.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the shooting or what sparked it on Tuesday, and authorities had yet to comment.

Witnesses reported seeing several military pickup trucks carrying armed security personnel, along with an armoured vehicle mounted with a machine gun, deployed around the central administrative district of Kaloum, where the presidential palace is located, Reuters reported.

An AFP journalist said police officers and special forces sealed off the road leading to the prison on Tuesday morning, while an armoured vehicle belonging to the special forces was stationed in front of the facility.

“I heard vehicles speeding past, rushed to the window and then heard automatic gunfire,” said Thierno Balde, an accountant who works in the area, echoing accounts from other residents.

The shooting reportedly started shortly before 9 a.m. local time and lasted for just over 30 minutes, with rapid bursts of gunfire echoing through the neighbourhood.

Abdouramane Doukoure, a retired civil servant, said he was driving past the prison when he heard the shots. “Because of the traffic jam, everyone ran in different directions to escape,” he said.

Another resident living next to the prison said gunfire could be heard inside the facility but added that the situation had since calmed.
“We don’t know for how long,” the resident cautioned.

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