Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio has said his government was in complete control after an attempted coup in the Western African country.
In a nationwide broadcast on Sunday, President Bio said the attack at a military armoury in Freetown, the nation’s capital, was an attempt to undermine peace and cause the nation.
The president noted that calm had been restored in the country after a national curfew was declared on Sunday until further notice.
He also revealed that most of the coup plotters have been arrested and security operations and investigations are ongoing.
He also said that the government would ensure that those responsible are held accountable.
Clips posted on social media appeared to show men in uniform under arrest in the back or beside a military pick-up truck.
Earlier in the day, gunshots and explosions were heard in the city’s Wilberforce district, where the armoury and some embassies are located.
Other witnesses reported exchanges of fire near a barracks in Murray Town district, home to the navy, and outside another military site in Freetown.
The Ministry of Information reported attacks on prisons earlier in the day with videos posted on social networks suggesting numerous prisoners had escaped from the central jail.
