The anti-government protest in Sierra Leone has left many dead on Thursday, after the previous day’s clashes which hundreds took to the streets in anger, agitating against economic hardship.
According to sources, six police officers and at least 21 civilians were killed, while the protesters demonstrated, calling the attention of government to their perceived failure to cushion the impact of rising prices.
On the previous day, police inspector general William Fayia Sellu told Reuters that the death toll included two police officers killed in Freetown, three in the northern town of Kamakwie and one in the northern city of Makeni,
A staff at the city’s main mortuary als confirmed that at least 13 civilians were shot dead in Freetown, while hospital revealed that four civilians were killed in Kamakwie and another four in Makeni.
On the reason for the unrest, another source disclosed that severity of the situation was triggered by citizens’ frustrations caused by rising prices for basic goods in a country. Based on statistics from the World Bank, more than half the population of around 8 million live below the poverty line.
So far, President Julius Maada Bio has assured that the circumstances surrounding Wednesday’s events would be “fully investigated”
While curfew has been imposed in the country, the Police revealed that it would remain in effect from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. local time from Thursday after the government imposed a 3 p.m. curfew on Wednesday in a bid to stem the violence.
Meanwhile, the situation at the moment has prompted citizens of the country stay mostly behind closed doors in the capital Freetown.
