Sierra Leone: 4 Killed in Generator Standoff

At least four people have died, and 10 others left wounded, when a standoff with the police and army over a power generator in northern Sierra Leone turned deadly.

Local sources claim that hundreds of protesters gathered in the city of Makeni on Saturday, 18 July, to prevent their electricity supply being disrupted, as authorities wanted to relocate the generator to the country’s international airport.

One source, speaking under the condition of anonymity, said: “[The authorities] began firing into the sky and people started running away … but after that, when people kept throwing stones, they started shooting into the people.”

Witnesses allege that the protestors ransacked the offices of President Julius Maada Bio’s All People’s Congress party.

Neither the army nor the police have spoken publicly regarding the incident.

However, a government statement was released late on Saturday afternoon, merely saying that any attempt to undermine public peace would be met with “the fullest force of the law”.

Sierra Leone’s power generation capacity is inadequate, and blackouts are virtually a daily occurrence, leaving the east African nation’s seven million citizens frustrated.