DAKAR, Senegal — Senior officers from Sierra Leone’s essential opposition get together on Sunday accused the nation’s navy of taking pictures reside ammunition and tear gasoline 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 Folks’s Congress, had gathered his supporters, get together workers and native officers on the headquarters in Freetown, the capital, to sift by way of knowledge from Saturday’s vote when the navy surrounded the constructing and fired on the crowds gathered outdoors, in response to Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr of Freetown, who was contained in the constructing.
“There was a festive temper, individuals have been taking part in music and dancing outdoors,” Ms. Aki-Sawyerr stated in a phone interview after she had been evacuated from the constructing on Sunday night, coughing from the tear gasoline.
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 reside ammunition being fired couldn’t instantly confirmed.
Drone footage confirmed the constructing engulfed in smoke, with tear gasoline canisters thrown round it.
The Sierra Leonean police stated in a press release on Sunday night that supporters of the A.P.C. get together had paraded by way of the streets of Freetown claiming to have gained the elections, though outcomes have but to be formally introduced.
“Because the state of affairs turned insufferable, the police needed to hearth tear gasoline canisters in order to disperse the gang, which was harassing individuals on the street,” the assertion stated.
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 12 months, inflation has reached its highest stage in twenty years. The nationwide forex is one in all Africa’s weakest. And Sierra Leone, one of many world’s poorest international locations, has one in all West Africa’s highest youth unemployment fee.
Mr. Bio, a former navy chief who participated in two coups in the course of the nation’s civil battle 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 12 months’s vote, a runoff is taken into account possible; 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 cops, 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 stated voting went with out main disturbance on Saturday.
The Carter Middle, 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 issues over the shortage of transparency within the vote tallying.
That afternoon, dozens of individuals have been trapped contained in the headquarters of the opposition get together for greater than an hour as they have been about to rejoice 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 stated she and about 20 individuals crawled towards Mr. Kamara’s workplace to flee the tear gasoline.
Mr. Kamara stated reside 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 girl was severely wounded and appeared unresponsive, in response to a Reuters reporter who was there. Ms. Aki-Sawyerr stated the girl had been dropped at Mr. Kamara’s workplace.
“I’m in shock,” she stated. “I’m sorry that is occurring to my nation.”
Elian Peltier reported from Dakar, Senegal, and Joseph Johnson from Freetown, Sierra Leone.
