Sierra Leone's general election is in danger because of violence. There was a fight between security forces and members of the main opp...
Sierra Leone's general election is in danger because of violence.
There was a fight between security forces and members of the main opposition party, the Sierra Leone All People's Congress (APC). At least one person was killed, and markets in the capital city of Freetown had to close because of the fighting.
The incident happened as plans were being made for the presidential poll on Saturday.
Some people in the city told the BBC that people are running to the markets to buy food because they are afraid of more fighting.
Sidi Yahya Tunis, a spokesman for the major opposition party, told Reuters that one of the party's supporters was killed by the police during the fight.
A video that the BBC hasn't checked out shows a man who has been shot in the neck and is out of it.
Braima Jah, the head of the National cops, said that the cops did not shoot. where he said that the protesters had shot five times, "Twice with a small pistol and three times with an AK-47."
National news outlets said that 66 people were held because of the fight.
The fight started when the country's opposition party said that the electoral board had made mistakes when people signed up to vote.
In his speech, the President of the country, Julius Maada Bio, said that he would do things that had never been done before to stop people who were making trouble in the country.
In a united statement, the UK, the US, Ireland, Germany, France, and the EU asked everyone to stop fighting and live in peace.
Since the country's civil war ended in 2002, this is the country's fifth election. During the war, more than 50,000 people died and thousands were forced to leave their homes.
Mr. Bio wants to be president of the country for a second and final time. He is running against other candidates, like APC Samura Kamara, who came in second place in the 2018 election.
Since 2021, Mr. Kamara has been charged with graft, which he says is just a political charge.
On June 24, about 3.4 million people are set to vote in a country where the inflation rate is 43%.
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