Sierra Leone: tenuous calm restored after armed clashes in capital Freetown

A tenuous calm has been restored in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown after a day of armed clashes, the country’s President Julius Maada Bio announced on Sunday (26 November), which he portrayed as an attempt to destabilize the state.
The Sierra Leone’s government has said it is again in full control following an armed attack on a military armory in the capital over the weekend that has prompted it to declare a nationwide curfew until further notice. “Calm has been restored. Security operations and investigations are ongoing,” the president said after what he described as an “attempt to undermine the peace and stability that we are working so hard for.” Most of the perpetrators of the armed attack, according to President Bio, have been arrested.
Unknown assailants were reported as attempting to force their way into a military arsenal in Freetown, confronting security forces in various parts of the capital, and freeing numerous prisoners from jail. Witnesses said they heard gunshots and explosions in the city’s Wilberforce district, where the armory and some embassies are located. Videos posted later on social media appeared to show men in uniform under arrest in the back or beside a military pick-up truck. The incident occurred amid months of post-election unrest in the West African nation. The latest unrest in Sierra Leone, which was condemned by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), comes after a series of military coups that have dealt blows to democracy in the region.