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DAKAR, Senegal — Senior officers from Sierra Leone’s important opposition get together on Sunday accused the nation’s navy of taking pictures 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 Individuals’s Congress, had gathered his supporters, get together employees and native officers on the headquarters in Freetown, the capital, to sift via knowledge from Saturday’s vote when the navy surrounded the constructing and fired on the crowds gathered outdoors, based on Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr of Freetown, who was contained in the constructing.
“There was a festive temper, folks had been enjoying music and dancing outdoors,” 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 Instances reporter on the scene noticed a truck loaded with troopers carrying semiautomatic weapons, and others holding tear-gas launchers. Reviews 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 a press release 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.
“Because the state of affairs turned insufferable, the police needed to fireplace tear fuel canisters in order to disperse the group, which was harassing folks on the highway,” the assertion mentioned.
Representatives from the federal government or the navy couldn’t be instantly reached for remark. A spokesman for the nation’s nationwide safety company denied that the navy 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 yr, inflation has reached its highest degree in twenty years. The nationwide forex is one among Africa’s weakest. And Sierra Leone, one of many world’s poorest international locations, has one among West Africa’s highest youth unemployment charges.
Mr. Bio, a former navy chief who participated in two coups through the nation’s civil conflict within the Nineties, was elected president in 2018, beating Mr. Kamara in a good race. Whereas Mr. Bio is taken into account the favourite on this yr’s vote, a runoff is taken into account probably; candidates want 55 % 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 folks lifeless final summer season, together with law enforcement officials, which had raised fears of additional stress 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 Heart, which has observers monitoring the election, urged events to not launch knowledge earlier than the nation’s electoral fee. In a press release on Sunday, it additionally expressed considerations over the dearth 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 have a good time provisional leads to a few of Freetown’s districts that appeared to favor Mr. Kamara.
Unsure of what was occurring outdoors, and whether or not troopers had penetrated the constructing, Ms. Aki-Sawyerr mentioned she and about 20 folks 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 gave the impression to be a bullet gap on social media.
One lady was severely wounded and appeared unresponsive, based on a Reuters reporter who was there. Ms. Aki-Sawyerr mentioned the lady had been dropped at Mr. Kamara’s workplace.
“I’m in shock,” she mentioned. “I’m sorry that is occurring to my nation.”
Elian Peltier reported from Dakar, Senegal, and Joseph Johnson from Freetown, Sierra Leone.
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