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.
An Associated Press journalist in the capital said that gunshots were still heard in the city hours after the
government assured residents of calm, although it wasn’t clear who was behind the exchange of fire,
nor 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 both said that 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.
Bio was reelected in Sierra Leone’s fifth presidential election since the end of a brutal 11-year civil war
— more than two decades ago — which left tens of thousands of people dead and destroyed the
country’s economy.
He continues to face criticism because of debilitating economic conditions. Nearly 60% of Sierra Leone’s
population is facing poverty, with the youth unemployment rate being one of the highest in West Africa.
Two months after Bio won the disputed vote, police said they arrested several people, including senior
military officers planning to use protests “to undermine peace” in the country.
