New York, Nov 2 2009 6:10PM

Police officers serving with the United Nations peacekeeping force in Liberia have helped foil an attempted mass jail break this weekend from a prison in the West African nation’s capital, Monrovia.

As many as 50 prisoners tried to escape about 2:20 p.m. yesterday after one inmate at Monrovia Central Prison stole a set of keys from a corrections officer and then locked that officer inside a cell, according to the UN Mission in Liberia (http://unmil.org/).

Dozens of detainees moved into the prison yard and tried to scale the prison’s perimeter wall before they were intercepted by members of a Jordanian formed police unit (FPU) serving with UNMIL, as well as Liberian police officers and other prison staff.

The mission reported that several warning shots were fired into the air to deter the inmates and none were able to escape. Those who attempted to escape have since been relocated to other cells and at least 23 will appear in court over the matter.

UNMIL added that while 12 Jordanian FPU members, two detainees and one corrections officer sustained injuries during the escape attempt, they were minor.

ENDS