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Tripoli, 16 October:
The authorities claim to have recaptured around 60 of the 120 fugitives who escaped from the Al-Judaida prison in . . .[restrict]Fornaj yesterday.
The exact circumstances surrounding the breakout remained unclear today, but it is reckoned the escape was facilitated by a lack of guards and the inability of the Ministry of Justice to fully man the jail.
National Guard chief Khalid Al-Sharif has said that checkpoints have been established around the area and that a full investigation into the incident is now underway.
The escapees are said to be of various nationalities, and include illegal African migrants and Libyans with criminal convictions.
It is not known how many of the inmates were being held on charges of crimes committed under the former regime, although the breakout comes just five days before the first anniversary of the death of Muammar Qaddafi.
Twenty-six inmates of Al-Judaida also managed to escape following a riot at the prison on 10 August, although officials claimed the majority were recaptured shortly afterwards. In that instance, the Libya Herald was present at the time of the incident, which saw armed security officers scaling the walls of the jail and automatic rifle fire being exchanged inside.
It was rumoured that the escape was orchestrated by an inmate accused of involvement in serious financial crimes, who had persuaded a number of his colleagues to help him stage the breakout.
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