The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has announced that it will send 1,200 troops to Sierra Leone.
According to a written statement by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the ECOWAS Chairperson Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Tinubu met with the chiefs of staff of member countries in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.
Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff Christopher Musa stated during the meeting that ECOWAS has decided to deploy 1,200 troops to Sierra Leone and that the member countries have pledged to support this effort.
Coup Attempt in Sierra Leone
On November 26, 2023, a group attacked an armory at the Wilberforce Barracks in Freetown, followed by an assault on a nearby prison.
In the prison attack, 2,200 inmates escaped, leading to a partial curfew being imposed across the country.
Military spokesperson Issa Bangura reported that in the attack on the Wilberforce Barracks, 19 people, including 13 soldiers and one police officer, lost their lives, and 8 others were injured.
Sierra Leone’s Minister of Information and Civic Education, Chernor A. Bah, described the attacks on the barracks and the prison as a “coup attempt.”
Several individuals, including military personnel and police officers, have been detained in connection with the coup attempt.
Among the suspects, 12, including a bodyguard of former President Ernest Bai Koroma, have been charged with “treason.”
Koroma traveled to Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, after Sierra Leone’s High Court permitted him to go abroad for medical treatment.