Sierra Leone’s government has revealed that the Sunday unrest, in which armed men attacked institutions in the capital city, had been a planned coup.
The Information Minister, Chernoh Bah, had made this revelation, saying that gunmen had tried to “destabilise and overthrow” the government on Sunday, November 26.
The attackers had stormed military barracks and prisons, liberating about 2,000 inmates, according to the authorities.
About 19 people, including security forces and a civilian, had died in the violence.
“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.” the Information Minister had said on Tuesday.
The political situation in Sierra Leone has been tense ever since June when President Julius Maada Bio was re-elected for another term in office – only barely missing out on the need to have a run-off election.
The result was dismissed by the main opposition candidate and queried by international partners, including the United States and the European Union.
Prior to this latest unrest, a number of soldiers were arrested and accused of planning a coup against the president in August.
