The authorities in Sierra Leone has said they are in full control after some armed gunmen attacked a military armoury in the capital Freetown, which the president called an attempt to destabilise the state.
Following the incident the President Julius Maada Bio has declared an indefinite nation wide curfew
Sierra Leone has been going through a political crisis following elections in June this year
Speaking on national television, President Bio said calm had been restored after what he described as an attempt to undermine peace and stability in the country.
“Most of the leaders have been arrested. Security operations and investigations are ongoing, adding that the government would “ensure that those responsible are held accountable”.
Videos posted on social media appeared to show men in uniform under arrest in the back or beside a military pick-up truck.
The information ministry reported attacks on prisons earlier in the day that obliged the security forces to retreat.
The information ministry said security forces had pushed the attackers to the outskirts of Freetown.
The situation remained unclear with the authorities not commenting on the motives or identity of the attackers.
President Bio wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the government would “continue to protect the peace and security of Sierra Leone against the forces that wish to truncate our much-cherished stability”.
“We remain resolute in our determination to protect democracy in Sierra Leone.”
Regional bloc the Economic Community of West Africa States since 2020, issued a statement underlining “its zero-tolerance for unconstitutional change of government”.
Echoing language used to condemn past coup attempts, ECOWAS spoke of its “utter disgust” over a “plot by certain individuals to acquire arms and disturb the peace and constitutional order”.
President Bio, who was first elected in 2018, was re-elected in June with 56.17 percent of the vote — just over the 55 percent needed to avoid a run-off.
