Sierra Leone’s information minister, Mohamed Rahman Swaray, has confirmed that the lives of security personnel “had been lost” amid mass protests that hit the country on Wednesday.
Demonstrations have taken place across parts of the capital, Freetown, and other cities known as opposition strongholds.
It is yet unclear what the exact grievances of the protesters are, or how many people have lost their lives.
Crowds in the city of Makeni have been filmed chanting “we want peace, Maada must go,” in reference to Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio.
Swaray who confirmed that the army had been deployed in an attempt to quell protests that, according to him, had not been agreed with the police said they now see visible presence of the army.
Swaray accused “self-seeking politicians” of masterminding the violent demonstrations by exploiting “joblessness” among the youth.
Youth employment rate in Sierra Leone rose to 10.77% in 2021,according to the World Bank.
According to the minister, police stations in various parts of the country had been torched.
He said “our government condemns this in the strongest of terms”.
