2023-11-28 06:57:13
Sierra Leonean authorities are tracking the fugitives responsible for Sunday’s clashes in Freetown which left around twenty dead, according to military and forensic sources. Among them are “active or retired soldiers”, according to the army.
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In Sierra Leone, the authorities are trying to get their hands on those responsible for the attacks on Sunday, November 26 in the capital Freetown, which left around twenty dead, according to military and forensic sources. According to the army, these attacks were orchestrated by soldiers who rebelled against the government.
Freetown experienced several hours of armed confrontation on Sunday between security forces and unknown assailants who tried to break into a military armory before daybreak. The central prison, another penitentiary and two police stations were also stormed and dozens of detainees appear to have escaped.
“We have launched a manhunt to find all those involved in the attack and among whom are active or retired soldiers,” the spokesperson for the army told the press on Monday, November 27. army, Colonel Issa Bangura.
He later clarified by telephone to AFP that 13 soldiers had been killed and eight others seriously injured in the fighting, mainly while defending the barracks.
“Some military personnel are not loyal to the government and the president, despite the oath they took,” Colonel Bangura said.
At least four attackers and two civilians were killed, a forensic services official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the subject.
The events have awakened the specter of a new coup d’état in West Africa which, since 2020, has experienced one in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea, neighboring Sierra Leone.
Read alsoIn Sierra Leone, an unforgettable civil war
The authorities have not communicated any overall human toll from the attempted coup early Sunday, nor provided any other details on the instigators of the events which shook the capital, or on their motivations.
President Julius Maada Bio appeared on television the same evening to assure that “calm (was) restored”, and that most of those responsible had been arrested. He appeared to support the political motivation by calling it an “attempt to undermine peace and stability.”
His services published photos on Monday of him working in his office, then receiving a high-level delegation from the Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Nigeria, the regional heavyweight, who came with “a message of solidarity” according to the Sierra Leonean presidency.
Checkpoints and curfews
Some stores have reopened in Freetown, which the day before looked like a ghost town. Schools, however, remained closed.
Checkpoints have been set up on the main roads, where members of the security forces search vehicles. A curfew is in place from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. (local and GMT) until further notice, announced the Ministry of Communication.
“We encourage our fellow citizens to resume the normal course of their activities (…) but we continue to urge them to maintain calm and vigilance and to report any suspicious or unusual behavior to the nearest police station,” he said. -he said.
A popular musician, Alhaji Amadu Bah, sentenced to several years in prison and filmed the day before preening, was filmed again as he returned to prison on his own with a message for his fans : “Respect peace and the law”.
Many worried Sierra Leoneans rushed to stock up where they could, like Mariama Kamara, a 25-year-old mother.
“I’m looking for food for the family, most of the stores are closed,” she told AFP. “I’m waiting for the government to protect us. It’s peace we want, but many people are afraid to go back to their businesses.”
With AFP
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