Sierra Leone’s government has designated Sunday’s disorder, in which armed men attacked institutions in the capital city, as an attempted coup.
According to the BBC, Information Minister Chernoh Bah said on Tuesday said the incident was a failed attempted coup.
He said, “The intention was to illegally subvert and overthrow a democratically elected government,”
“The attempt failed, and plenty of the leaders are either in police custody or on the run. We will try to capture them and bring them to the full force of the laws of Sierra Leone.”
The information minister said that gunmen had tried to “subvert and overthrow” the government on Sunday.
The assailants attacked a military barracks and prisons, freeing around 2,000 inmates, the authorities said.
At least 19 people, comprising security forces and a civilian, died in the violence.
Several countries in West and Central Africa are under military rule after a series of recent coups. These include Sierra Leone’s neighbour Guinea as well as Mali, Niger and Chad.
