Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio claims ‘calm restored’ after authorities stated the assault was repelled.
Sierra Leone has declared a nationwide curfew after gunmen attacked a army barracks within the capital, Freetown, based on a authorities assertion, after months of post-election unrest within the West African nation.
Sierra Leone’s authorities on Sunday stated they’d repelled the assault on the army’s predominant Wilberforce barracks and have been answerable for the state of affairs.
Data Minister Chernor Bah assured the general public in a press release on Sunday that “the government and its state security forces are in control”.
Bah urged residents to “stay indoors” as safety forces “continued the process of apprehending the suspects”.
Witnesses informed the AFP information company they heard heavy gunfire and explosions within the capital early on Sunday morning, whereas a video shared on social media appeared to point out plumes of smoke rising from the streets.
Different witnesses stated they heard exchanges of fireside close to a barracks in Murray City district, residence to the navy, in addition to exterior one other army website in Freetown, AFP reported.
Authorities ‘in control’
Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio confirmed the safety breach in a press release on his official X social media account on Sunday, blaming a bunch of “renegades” for the assault.
Bio stated calm had been “restored” and safety forces have been persevering with to “root out the remnant of the fleeing renegades”. He urged all residents to unite to guard democracy within the West African nation.
“The PEACE of our beloved NATION is PRICELESS and we shall continue to protect the peace and security of Sierra Leone against the forces that wish to truncate our much-cherished stability,” stated the put up.
Fellow Sierra Leoneans,
I carry you greetings from the Presidential Lodge in Freetown.
Within the early hours of this morning, there was a breach of safety on the Navy Barracks at Wilberforce in Freetown, as some unidentified people attacked the army armoury.…
— President Julius Maada Bio (@PresidentBio) November 26, 2023
In a press release issued on Sunday, West Africa’s regional bloc, the Financial Group of West African States (ECOWAS), condemned the try and “disturb constitutional order” in Sierra Leone.
Rising unrest
Sierra Leone has seen political violence and unrest because the re-election of President Bio in June.
That election was the fifth because the finish of Sierra Leone’s brutal 11-year civil struggle – greater than 20 years in the past – which left tens of 1000’s lifeless and destroyed the nation’s economic system.
Worldwide observers condemned a “lack of transparency” within the poll depend and Sierra Leone’s opposition celebration initially disputed the outcomes and boycotted the federal government.
Since his electoral victory 5 months in the past, Bio continues to face criticism due to debilitating financial circumstances. Practically 60 % of Sierra Leone’s inhabitants of greater than 7 million are impoverished, and youth unemployment is among the many highest in West Africa.
The unrest in Sierra Leone comes after a sequence of army coups which have dealt blows to democracy within the area. There have been eight army coups in West and Central Africa since 2020, together with in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea.