Riyadh protests as murderer of Saudis escape from Niger jail

Saudi Arabia has expressed its displeasure at the escape of a convicted murderer of four Saudis from a jail in the capital Niger recently.
The convict, Alassane Ould Mohamed, escaped in an operation suspected to have been carried out by a terrorist organization to which he belonged. The incident took place a week ago.
During the operation in which two prison guards were killed, 22 prisoners went missing, according to a statement from the Niger government.
The convict had been sentenced to a heavy fine and a 20-year jail term for the murder of four Saudis and an American, Al-Riyadh daily reported yesterday.
The Saudi Charge d’Affaires in Niger, Saad Al-Qahtani, met with the country's justice minister and other officials to register the Kingdom’s protest.
Saudi ambassador to the sub-Saharan country, Saud Al-Dayel, said authorities in Niger had assured him on an earlier occasion that the security of the prison was ensured with the deployment of tanks around it to ward off any possible prison break attempts. However, the latest developments showed there were either no such arrangements in place or a serious security lapse by authorities.
Al-Dayel said a committee under the supervision of the Saudi Foreign Ministry would soon visit Niger to monitor the situation and review developments.
Mohamed was sentenced in June last year for his involvement in a December 2009 attack on a group of tourists that left four Saudi men dead. Another Saudi man was permanently incapacitated in the attack that took place while they were performing Fajr prayer close to Niamey.
The Kingdom, which demanded capital punishment for the culprit, has been waiting for an appeal hearing in the case at a Niamey court in January.
While the Niger authorities claimed that the fugitive was still present in that country, several other sources indicated that he escaped to neighboring Mali.
Niger has emerged as a firm ally of France and the United States in the fight against Al-Qaeda-linked groups in the arid Sahel region.
Its army has deployed 650 troops in Mali to take part in a French-led war on armed groups who seized the northern two-thirds of the country last year.