More than 900 inmates have escaped in a historic jailbreak in the Republic of Congo. The jail break also caused the death of at least 11 people.

It all happened when  armed bandits attacked a prison located in Congo’s eastern city of Beni on Sunday.

According to the North Kivu provincial governor, Julien Paluku, while announcing a curfew in Beni and neighbouring Butembo, eight prison guards were among the dead while about 30 prisoners remained behind in the Kangbayi Prison following the afternoon attack.

“Only the army and the police have the right to circulate in order to have control over the enemy,” Paluku said.

Although it was not immediately known who carried out the attack, members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF)  founded in neighbouring Uganda in the 1990’s are imprisoned there and the group had severally threatened to attack and free its members.

Sunday’s attack followed  similar attacks carried out on police and prison facilities in the past few months. In May, members of a Christian sect stormed a prison in Kinshasa and freed its leader and members.