Dozens of people have been confirmed dead as a result of the protests in Sierra Leone against the high cost of living which is threatening to push the country into crisis.
Africa Today News, New York reports that about eight police officers and more than 21 protestors from the general public are among the dead.
Recall that on Wednesday, thousands of people poured into Freetown’s streets to demonstrate against inflation and the dire economic situation.
To prevent the large demonstration from growing, the authorities has imposed a statewide curfew.
Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh made the announcement on a television broadcast.
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Jalloh pointed out that it was high time the country returned to normalcy, adding that the authorities would no longer tolerate violence.
The military and the police have been drafted to strategic locations to forestall further demonstrations.
President Julius Maada Bio, who has been asked to leave power, said his administration has a responsibility to protect every citizen.
“What happened was unfortunate and will be fully investigated. I urge all Sierra Leoneans to be calm’, he tweeted.
Meanwhile, ECOWAS has asserted that it is joining in condemning the violence as it posited in a Twitter post for ‘all to obey law and order and for the perpetrators of the violence to be identified and brought before the law.’
Discontent has been boiling over for a number of reasons, including a perceived lack of government support for ordinary people who are struggling, said Augustine Sorie-Sengbe Marrah, a constitutional lawyer and governance activist.
‘There has been little empathy from the central government to encourage folks that they see them suffering, and that they understand these are tough economic times,’ he told reporters.
Long-standing frustration has also been exacerbated by rising prices for basic goods in Sierra Leone, where more than half the population of around 8 million lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.