Heavy gunfire near the central prison in Conakry, Guinea:

Heavy automatic gunfire was heard early Tuesday morning near the central prison in Conakry, in the Kaloum administrative district where the presidential palace and government buildings are located. Witnesses reported rounds of sustained gunfire for about 30+ minutes.

• Security forces deployed heavily — police, special units and armored vehicles have been seen blocking roads around the prison area and in parts of central Conakry.

• Panic and confusion spread among residents as vehicles and armed personnel moved quickly through adjacent streets, though authorities have not issued an official statement about the cause.

• The identity of those firing and the motive — such as whether this is a jailbreak attempt, security operation, or unrest inside the facility — is not yet confirmed by the government.

Context & background
• The central prison in Conakry has been a flashpoint in past incidents — including a well-publicized armed commando extraction of a former military commander there, which was reported alongside recent gunfire by some sources.

• Guinea has a history of political instability under military leadership since a 2021 coup, with heightened tensions around prisons that hold high-profile figures.

What’s not yet known
•No official casualty figures, whether any prisoners escaped, or precise reasons for the gunfire have been confirmed. Authorities in Conakry have so far not released an explanation.