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Sierra Leone Leadership Security It announced a nationwide curfew on Wednesday following violent anti-government protests that allegedly killed an unspecified number of people, including troops.
The curfew will begin at 3pm. was. Changed to local time (1500 GMT) to stop the riots.
Social media videos showed large numbers of protesters and piles of burning tires in eastern Freetown. Another video showed a group of young men throwing stones into a street filled with white smoke, while another group attacked a man who had fallen to the ground. Reuters was unable to independently verify the images.
"These unscrupulous people embarked on violent and unauthorized protests that claimed the lives of innocent Sierra Leoneans, including security personnel." Vice President Mohammed Jourde Jarreau said. video address.
He did not say how many people were killed. He could not immediately contact police for comment.
"The government hereby declares a nationwide curfew," he said. "The security sector is empowered to fully enforce this directive."
Earlier, Internet Observatory NetBlocks said Sierra Leone had He said he faced a near-total internet blackout.
According to an internal letter widely shared online, on Tuesday the National Security Coordinator asked the military to be ready to back up police from August 9-12, calling on the "security The situation could become unstable," he warned.
Long-standing dissatisfaction with governments in some regions has resulted in rising prices for basic commodities in the West African country, where more than half of the population of about 8 million lives below the poverty line. is exacerbated by World Bank. (Written by Alessandra Prentiss, edited by Toby Chopra and Mike Harrison)
