DAKAR, Senegal — Senior officers from Sierra Leone’s primary opposition get together on Sunday accused the nation’s army of capturing stay ammunition and tear fuel into their headquarters, elevating tensions within the small West African nation a day after presidential elections.
Samura Kamara, the presidential candidate of the opposition All People’s Congress, had gathered his supporters, get together employees and native officers on the headquarters in Freetown, the capital, to sift via information from Saturday’s vote when the army surrounded the constructing and fired on the crowds gathered exterior, in line with Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr of Freetown, who was contained in the constructing.
“There was a festive mood, people were playing music and dancing outside,” Ms. Aki-Sawyerr mentioned in a phone interview after she had been evacuated from the constructing on Sunday night, coughing from the tear fuel.
A New York Times reporter on the scene noticed a truck loaded with troopers carrying semiautomatic weapons, and others holding tear-gas launchers. Reports of stay ammunition being fired couldn’t instantly confirmed.
Drone footage confirmed the constructing engulfed in smoke, with tear fuel canisters thrown round it.
The Sierra Leonean police mentioned in an announcement on Sunday night that supporters of the A.P.C. get together had paraded via the streets of Freetown claiming to have received the elections, though outcomes have but to be formally introduced.
“As the situation became unbearable, the police had to fire tear gas canisters so as to disperse the crowd, which was harassing people on the road,” the assertion mentioned.
Representatives from the federal government or the army couldn’t be instantly reached for remark. A spokesman for the nation’s nationwide safety company denied that the army was current on the scene.
Sierra Leoneans went to the polls on Saturday to elect their subsequent president amid a crippling financial disaster and widespread doubt that both of the 2 favorites — the incumbent, Julius Maada Bio, and Mr. Kamara — can heal the nation’s ills.
Over the previous 12 months, inflation has reached its highest stage in 20 years. The nationwide foreign money is considered one of Africa’s weakest. And Sierra Leone, one of many world’s poorest nations, has considered one of West Africa’s highest youth unemployment price.
Mr. Bio, a former army chief who participated in two coups in the course of the nation’s civil struggle within the Nineteen Nineties, was elected president in 2018, beating Mr. Kamara in a good race. While Mr. Bio is taken into account the favourite on this 12 months’s vote, a runoff is taken into account doubtless; candidates want 55 p.c of the vote to safe a victory within the first spherical.
The unrest on Sunday got here after violent protests over rising costs left greater than two dozen individuals lifeless final summer season, together with law enforcement officials, which had raised fears of additional rigidity forward of the vote. On Wednesday, supporters of Mr. Kamara clashed with safety forces in entrance of the get together’s headquarters, however election observers mentioned voting went with out main disturbance on Saturday.
The Carter Center, which has observers monitoring the election, urged events to not launch information earlier than the nation’s electoral fee. In an announcement on Sunday, it additionally expressed issues over the shortage of transparency within the vote tallying.
That afternoon, dozens of individuals had been trapped contained in the headquarters of the opposition get together for greater than an hour as they had been about to rejoice provisional leads to a few of Freetown’s districts that appeared to favor Mr. Kamara.
Uncertain of what was occurring exterior, and whether or not troopers had penetrated the constructing, Ms. Aki-Sawyerr mentioned she and about 20 individuals crawled towards Mr. Kamara’s workplace to flee the tear fuel.
Mr. Kamara mentioned stay rounds had been fired at his workplace’s door, and posted a photograph of what seemed to be a bullet gap on social media.
One lady was severely wounded and appeared unresponsive, in line with a Reuters reporter who was there. Ms. Aki-Sawyerr mentioned the girl had been delivered to Mr. Kamara’s workplace.
“I’m in shock,” she mentioned. “I am sorry this is happening to my country.”
Elian Peltier reported from Dakar, Senegal, and Joseph Johnson from Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Source: www.nytimes.com