Leaders of attacks on Sierra Leone's military arrested as curfew eases

Sierra Leone's president said most leaders of attacks on the nation's main military barracks and prisons had been arrested and normalcy had returned across the country after a 24-hour curfew was relaxed to a dusk-to-dawn lockdown.

The attacks early Sunday morning surprised residents and security forces in the West African nation and raised fears of a possible coup in a troubled region.

But most of the leaders of the attacks now have been arrested and calm has been restored", President Julius Maada Bio said in a Sunday night address.

Residents in the capital city of Freetown were awoken by sounds of heavy gunfire as gunmen tried to break into the key armoury in the country's largest military barracks, located near the presidential villa.

They engaged in sustained gunfire with security forces and targeted major detention centres including the central prison holding more than 2,000 inmates and freed or abducted an unconfirmed number of people, authorities said.

Videos on social media appeared to show dozens of inmates pouring into the streets to hurriedly escape around the same time that security forces were engaged in a shootout with the attackers on the outskirts of the city.

The attacks deepened political tension in West and Central Africa where coups have surged, with eight military takeovers since 2020, including in Niger and Gabon this year. West Africa's regional economic bloc ECOWAS of which Sierra Leone is a member described the attacks as a plot to acquire arms and disturb the peace and constitutional order in the country.

The attacks were an attempt to undermine the peace and stability we have worked so hard to achieve, said Bio, whose reelection in a disputed vote in June has raised political tensions in the country still healing from a 11-year civil war that ended more than two decades ago.

Security operations and investigations are ongoing (and) we will ensure that those responsible are held accountable through due process, Bio said.

The 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew will remain in effect until further notice, Information Minister Chernor Bah said.

While we encourage citizens to return to their normal activities, we continue to urge everyone to remain calm but vigilant, and to report any suspicious or unusual activity to the nearest police station, Bah said.