DOUALA: Sierra Leone declared a nationwide curfew Wednesday following violent protests and a full investigation will be conducted.
The West African nation has been observing the curfew since the afternoon after it was announced by Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh on national television, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
People had taken to the streets earlier to demonstrate against the high cost of living in the country of over 8 million inhabitants, where the budget deficit has increased from 5.6 per cent to 7.1 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP), impacted by Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The country’s public debt has also edged up from 74 per cent to 75 per cent of GDP, according to the African Development Bank.
“Unscrupulous individuals” during “an unauthorised, violent demonstration” had caused “the deaths of innocent Sierra Leoneans, including security personnel, Juldeh Jalloh said, without providing the number of dead.
President Julius Maada Bio called for calm among his countrymen and announced investigations into the incident.
“As a government, we have the responsibility to protect every citizen of Sierra Leone. What happened today was unfortunate and will be fully investigated. I urge all Sierra Leoneans to be calm,“ he said on Twitter. - Bernama