Afrigather Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio introduced on Sunday night that calm has been restored after a day of armed clashes in Freetown, which he portrayed as an try to destabilize the state. A lot of the perpetrators, based on him, have been arrested.
“Calm has been restored” after what he described as an “try to undermine the peace and stability that we’re working so arduous for,” mentioned Mr. Bio on state tv. The day noticed unknown assailants making an attempt to drive their manner right into a navy arsenal in Freetown, confronting safety forces in varied elements of the capital, and releasing quite a few prisoners from jail.
Authorities have imposed a nationwide curfew till additional discover. “A lot of the leaders have been arrested,” and they are going to be held accountable, mentioned Mr. Bio in a short assertion, with out offering additional particulars. Data Minister Chernor Bah had earlier acknowledged that “the safety state of affairs in Freetown was firmly below authorities management.” A tenuous calm returned to town. Nevertheless, checkpoints guarded by important safety forces have been maintained.
No official human toll from the violence has been disclosed. Movies posted on social media present some males in uniforms seemingly below arrest on the rear or close to a navy pickup. Social media, with accompanying images, cited a former member of the shut safety of former President Ernest Bai Koroma (2007-2018) as one of many members killed by safety forces.
Civil aviation instructed airways to reschedule flights after the lifting of the curfew, assuring that the airspace remained open. The occasions revived the specter of a brand new coup try in West Africa, which has seen such makes an attempt in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and neighboring Guinea since 2020.
The Financial Neighborhood of West African States (ECOWAS) spoke in an announcement of an try to seize weapons from the arsenal but in addition to “disturb peace and constitutional order,” language generally used for political coups. The native illustration of the European Union expressed concern and known as for “respect for constitutional order.”
Sierra Leone, an Anglophone nation, skilled a political disaster following disputed presidential and common elections in June 2023. One of many world’s poorest nations, it additionally faces important financial challenges. Freetown woke as much as the sound of gunfire earlier than daybreak.
“I used to be woke up round 4:30 AM (native and GMT) by a loud noise of machine weapons and bombs coming from the Wilberforce barracks,” mentioned Susan Kargbo, a witness reached by cellphone. “I used to be shocked, in panic… It was like in wartime. I could not go to church due to the curfew,” she mentioned.
The federal government acknowledged that people had tried to assault the arsenal of the Wilberforce barracks, one of many nation’s primary barracks, however had been repelled. A curfew was imposed nationwide, leaving the streets of Freetown nearly abandoned, as proven by aerial movies shot by AFP.
-“Zero Tolerance”-
The attackers attacked and compelled the doorways of the central jail and varied penitentiary institutions, permitting teams of women and men to flee, some with meager belongings in hand. The federal government denied one of many many rumors circulating within the tense metropolis, particularly an try to take over the nationwide tv, a basic transfer in coups.
State tv broadcast a authorities message assuring that the state of affairs was below management, adopted by the president’s handle. “We strongly condemn the try to forcibly seize the Wilberforce barracks and arsenal in a single day,” mentioned the US embassy in a message on social media.
ECOWAS expressed assist for the incumbent authorities and known as for the arrest of these answerable for the occasions. “ECOWAS reiterates its precept of zero tolerance for unconstitutional adjustments of presidency,” it mentioned. Julius Maada, elected for the primary time in 2018, was re-elected in June with 56.17% of the votes, based on outcomes printed by the electoral fee however contested by the opposition.”
