Los Angeles Times

Curfew declared in Sierra Leone after assault on military barracks

- By Kemo Cham and Chinedu Asadu Cham and Asadu write for the Associated Press.

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — Sierra Leone’s president declared a nationwide curfew Sunday after gunmen attacked the military’s main and largest barracks in the West African nation’s capital and then overran detention centers, including a major prison.

The attack raised fears of a breakdown of order amid a surge of coups in the region. In recent years, a string of west and central African countries have experience­d military coups. This year alone, the government­s of Niger and Gabon were overthrown by military factions, and there were attempts in Burkina Faso and Sudan, the latter of which has descended into civil war.

The detention centers, including the Pademba Road Prisons — holding more than 2,000 inmates — were attacked just as security forces fought to restore calm during sustained shootouts at the Wilberforc­e military barracks, according to Informatio­n Minister Chernor Bah.

“The prisons were overrun [and] some prisoners were abducted by the assailants while many others were released,” Bah said. Security forces managed to “push back” the assailants to the

outskirts of the city, where fighting continues, he added.

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio earlier declared a nationwide curfew in response to the attacks.

An Associated Press journalist in the capital said that gunshots were still audible in the city hours after the government assured residents of calm, although it wasn’t clear who was behind the exchange of fire or if any arrests were made.

“The security forces are making progress in the operation to defeat and apprehend those responsibl­e for today’s attacks,” Bah said. “The government remains in control and on top of the situation.”

The president and the country’s Ministry of Informatio­n and Education also said the government and security forces are in control of the situation, trying to dismiss fears of a possible escalation of violence in the country whose population of 8 million people is among the poorest in the world, having some of the lowest scores on the U.N. Human Developmen­t Index.

No details were immediatel­y given about the gunmen or the reason for the attack, which comes months after Bio was reelected for a second term in a disputed vote in which the main opposition party accused the electoral commission of rigging the results.

Videos posted online showed soldiers patrolling Freetown’s empty streets and captured the loud blasts of gunshots at dawn. The AP couldn’t immediatel­y verify the authentici­ty of the videos.

West Africa’s regional economic bloc ECOWAS — of which Sierra Leone is a member — described the incident as a plot “to acquire arms and disturb the peace and constituti­onal order” in the country. The bloc has in recent months tried to reverse the surge in coups in West and Central Africa, which has recorded eight military takeovers since 2020, the latest in Niger and Gabon this year.

 ?? Seth Wenig Associated Press SIERRA LEONE ?? President Julius Maada Bio was reelected recently.
Seth Wenig Associated Press SIERRA LEONE President Julius Maada Bio was reelected recently.

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