MONROVIA, Aug. 11 (LINA) – In the wake of an anti-government protest which turned violent on Wednesday in Freetown, Sierra Leone, the Commission of the Economics Community of West Africans States (ECOWAS), has denounced such chaotic action by the perpetrators.
The ECOWAS Commission called on all parties involved in the fracas “to obey law and order and for the perpetrators of the violence to be identified and brought before the law.”
On Wednesday August 10, 2022, Sierra Leone anti-government protesters clashed with police in the streets of the capital, Freetown, as tensions over the rising cost of living turned deadly in the West African nation.
The anti-government protesters were calling for the resignation of Pres. Julius Maada Bio, who was elected in a run-off election held in March 2018.
He gained 51.8 percent of the votes, according to official results from the Sierra Leone National Elections Commission.
In 2017, the average inflation rate in Sierra Leone amounted to about 18.22 percent compared to the previous year.
Inflation rate in Sierra Leone increased to 28 percent in June from 24.90 percent in May of 2022.
In a national broadcast, Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh said that “lives of both policemen and civilians were lost”, without giving further details.
He announced a nationwide curfew from 3:00 p.m. local time (15:00 GMT) on Wednesday.
But on Thursday, Police Inspector General William Fayia Sellu said six police officers had been killed. The death toll for protesters was not immediately available.
Videos on social media showed large crowds of protesters and piles of burning tires in eastern Freetown. Other footage showed a group of young men throwing rocks on a street filled with whitish smoke and another group attacking a man on the ground.
“These unscrupulous individuals have embarked on a violent and unauthorized protest which has led to the loss of lives of innocent Sierra Leoneans, including security personnel,” Vice President Jalloh said on Wednesday, without providing numbers of the dead.
Rancy S. Teewia
