Sierra Leone reported the capture of “renegade soldiers” involved in an attempted break-in at a military armoury in Freetown during the early hours of Sunday. The government has successfully restored calm in the capital, prompting the imposition of a nationwide curfew.
The country’s civil aviation authority has urged airlines to reschedule flights in response to the declared curfew, while soldiers on the frontier with Guinea revealed instructions to close the border.
A Reuters journalist, who witnessed an armed group commandeering a police vehicle near the Wilberforce barracks, described mostly empty streets.
The armed individuals, dressed in military fatigues and wearing masks, emphasized their mission to “clean this society” but assured that they were not targeting ordinary civilians.
Tensions in Sierra Leone have been escalating since President Julius Maada Bio’s re-election in June, a result contested by the main opposition candidate and scrutinized by international partners, including the United States and the European Union.
