Sierra Leone government confirms weekend attack was attempted coup
The government of Sierra Leon has declared that the weekend’s attack on the capital city, Freetown, by armed men as an attempted coup.
According to Ajazeera, the Information Minister, Chernor Bah said on Tuesday November 28 that 13 military officers and one civilian have been arrested following the incident.
“The incident was a failed attempted coup. The intention was to illegally subvert and overthrow a democratically elected government,” Bah was reported by Aljazeera to have said.
He further said “The attempt failed and plenty of the leaders are either in police custody or on the run. We will try to capture them and bring them to the full force of the laws of Sierra Leone.”
BBC reported that authorities said the assailants attacked military barracks and prisons, killing twenty people and freeing around 2,000 inmates. Authorities say 23 prisoners have been caught.
Army spokesman Colonel Issa Bangura told Reuters that the 20 dead include 13 soldiers, 3 assailants, a police officer, a civilian and someone working in private security. He added that 8 people were injured and three arrested.
“Certain members of the military are not loyal towards the government or the President despite taking the oath. We want to restore law and order as quickly as possible,” Bangura is reported by Aljazeera to have said.
Africa has experienced seven coups since August 2020, with the latest one being in Gabon.
Sierra Leone has had a series of coup in the past years. The first was in 1967, after their independence from Britain in 1961. Other coups took place in 1991, 1992 and 1997.
