SERIES OF WEST AFRICA COUPS
West Africa has seen a collection of army coups and tried coups since August 2020.
Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea, which shares a border with Sierra Leone, have all fallen underneath army management.
Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio additionally supplied assurances that calm had been returned to the capital, urging folks to remain indoors.
“Within the early hours of this morning, there was a breach of safety on the Army Barracks at Wilberforce in Freetown, as some unidentified people attacked the army armoury,” he posted on X, previously Twitter.
“Unidentified people attacked the army armoury. Nevertheless, they have been repelled by our gallant Safety Forces and calm has been restored,” he mentioned.
“Because the mixed crew of our Safety Forces proceed to route out the remnant of the fleeing renegades, a nationwide curfew has been declared and residents are inspired to remain indoors.”
He added that the federal government would “proceed to guard the peace and safety of Sierra Leone towards the forces that want to truncate (the nation’s) much-cherished stability” and mentioned it was “resolute in (its) willpower to guard democracy in Sierra Leone”.
Bio, who was first elected in 2018, was re-elected in June with 56.17 per cent of the vote – simply over the 55 per cent wanted to keep away from a run-off.
Worldwide observers condemned inconsistencies and a scarcity of transparency within the rely, in addition to acts of violence and intimidation.
The primary opposition All Folks’s Congress (APC) occasion disputed the outcomes of the presidential, legislative and native elections on Jun 24 and has boycotted all ranges of presidency.
The APC and the federal government signed an settlement in October following talks mediated by the Commonwealth, the African Union and the West African bloc ECOWAS.
The APC agreed to finish its boycott and start collaborating in authorities in change for an finish to detentions and court docket instances it mentioned have been politically motivated.
