Over the last few days, jihadis have mounted two attacks inside prisons in Somalia and Niger. While the mutiny inside the Nigerien prison was successful, the Somali prison assault appears to have been thwarted. Nonetheless, both incidents highlight the lingering threat of jihadi prison breaks on the continent and the importance jihadist groups put on such operations.
Earlier today, suspected imprisoned members of Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch for East Africa, attempted to stage a revolt inside Mogadishu’s Central Prison. Though it remains unclear how the prisoners obtained weapons and explosives, they mounted a surprise attack on the prison guards, prompting a fierce firefight involving small arms and grenades.
Somali authorities have since stated the attempted mutiny was thwarted, with five attackers killed. At least three prison guards were also killed in the assault. Mogadishu’s Central Prison, which houses many inmates from Shabaab and the Islamic State in Somalia, was the site of a previous prison break attempt in 2020 that played out eerily similar to today’s attempt. And in 2017, Shabaab targeted the prison with a suicide bombing in an apparent effort to create an opening for prisoners to escape.
Meanwhile, on Friday, July 12, suspected jihadist prisoners inside the Koutoukale prison just outside of Niger’s capital of Niamey staged a mutiny, obtained weapons from the guards, and broke out of the prison facility. Nigerien officials have not stated exactly how many inmates escaped, though it is generally believed dozens got out, including many jihadis from the Islamic State and al Qaeda.
The Koutoukale prison was previously the target of a jihadist jailbreak attempt in 2016. The Islamic State also attempted a prison break there in 2019, in which dozens of fighters assaulted the prison from the outside. This operation was later depicted in an Islamic State video—though that attack was repelled.
Importance of jihadi prison breaks
Jailbreaks can often be a boon for jihadist groups. In addition to the significant propaganda value of such operations, these incidents can swell ranks, reinforce capabilities by freeing more highly trained individuals, and provide groups with a new sense of direction after springing leaders and key personnel.
It is for these reasons that jailbreaks are specifically a major part of the Islamic State’s overall global strategy and are often called for by the group’s central leadership as part of its long-term “Breaking the Walls” policy that originated during the Iraq War.
In recent years, the group has also mounted significant prison breaks in northeastern Syria, eastern Afghanistan, just outside of Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja, across Central Asia, and twice in eastern Congo in the cities of Beni and Butembo. Several of these incidents came after Islamic State leaders publicly called for such operations.
On the other side of the global jihadi coin, Al Qaeda has also placed increased emphasis on its cadres launching prison breaks, particularly in Africa. For example, between 2018 and 2020, Al Qaeda’s Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), its official branch in West Africa, launched several prison breaks in Mali and Burkina Faso. These operations garnered explicit praise from al Qaeda’s General Command (its overall global leadership), who also told JNIM to continue such attempts.
And in Somalia, Shabaab mounted a successful prison break in the northern city of Bosaso in 2021. That assault came shortly after the group’s emir, Abu Ubaidah Ahmed Omar, made this announcement in a video:
The liberation of prisoners is a primary goal of [Shabaab]…we say to Muslim prisoners everywhere: we feel what you feel…be patient and endure, freeing you from captivity is a debt in the necks of your mujahideen brothers. And I say to the mujahideen, let the liberation of Muslim prisoners be at the top of your priorities.
The two recent jihadi prison assaults on separate ends of the African continent highlight the continued ideological and strategic importance that jihadis place on such operations. As jihadi leaders from both the Islamic State and al Qaeda continue to call for such operations, prison assaults and mutinies will likely continue.
