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Sierra Leone has implemented a nationwide curfew in response to an assault on a military barracks in the capital, Freetown, by unidentified gunmen, as stated by the government. This incident follows months of post-election unrest in the West African nation.
On Sunday, Sierra Leone's
government reported successfully repelling the attack at the main Wilberforce
barracks, asserting control over the situation. Information Minister Chernor
Bah assured the public in a Sunday statement that "the government and its
state security forces are in control."
Bah urged citizens to
"stay indoors" as security forces "continued the process of
apprehending the suspects."
Witnesses informed AFP news
agency of heavy gunfire and explosions in the capital early Sunday, with a video
on social media showing plumes of smoke rising from the streets.
Other witnesses mentioned
exchanges of fire near a barracks in the Murray Town district, housing the
navy, and outside another military site in Freetown, AFP reported.
Sierra Leone's President Julius
Maada Bio acknowledged the security breach in a Sunday statement on his
official social media account, attributing the attack to a group of
"renegades."
Bio confirmed the restoration
of calm and ongoing efforts by security forces to "root out the remnant of
the fleeing renegades." He called on all citizens to unite in protecting democracy
in Sierra Leone.
"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 post.
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