The government of Sierra Leone imposed a curfew due to armed clashes in the capital Freetown, as well as after an attempt by
unknown persons to break into a military weapons depot. President Julius Maada confirmed that peace has been restored in the city,
but the authorities will try to find all armed criminals.
On Sunday morning,
November 26, an attempt was made to break into a military depot in Freetown,
located near the residence of the President of Sierra Leone. In addition, there have been reports of armed
clashes in different parts of the city, as well as the government's decision to declare a national curfew.
curfew.
According to the
of the Government of Sierra Leone, armed clashes broke out in Freetown on Sunday, in particular
during an attack on a military depot. A national curfew was introduced in the country.
curfew was imposed in the country.
Witnesses told Agence France-Presse that they heard gunshots and explosions in the Wilberforce area, where the arms depot is located, along with several embassies. Other witnesses said they heard gunshots near the barracks, which are located near the presidential residence. There was a reported exchange of fire in the Murray Town area, where the navy is based, and clashes near another military base in Freetown.
After the attack
the Ministry of Information announced an immediate curfew and
"strongly" recommended that people across the West African country
to stay at home.
On Sunday morning (...) unidentified individuals attempted to break into a military arms depot at the Wilberforce barracks. All of them were repelled
President Julius
Maada said that calm had been restored in the city. Also, the government of the country
also announced that "a curfew is being imposed across the country with immediate effect to
to allow security forces to continue their search for suspects."
Reference
Julius Maada,
first elected in 2018, was re-elected in June this year in the first round,
with 56.17% of the vote, according to the results published by the electoral
Commission.
Foreign
observers, however, reported inconsistent and non-transparent vote counting
as well as acts of violence and intimidation. The main opposition party,
the All People's Congress Party (APC), considered the presidential election, as well as
legislative and local elections as fraudulent and decided to
to boycott parliament and local councils. Two months after the elections, several
soldiers were arrested and charged with plotting a coup d'état
against the president.