Sierra Leone’s Kamara claims election-related assassination strive
In Sierra Leone, opposition presidential candidate Samura Kamara was huddled in his office on Sunday while claiming an assassination attempt on his life by security forces who surrounded the building in Freetown.
The events followed Saturday’s election in which Kamara, of the All People’s Congress (APC), was the main contender among a dozen candidates challenging incumbent Julius Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP). The electoral commission in Sierra Leone says it continues the vote tally and should have results some time Monday.
But amid electoral tensions in the West African nation, Kamara found himself lying on the floor of his campaign office, describing the scene in a series of Twitter messages.
“People laying on the floor and the military has surrounded the building. Live bullets fired at my private office at the party headquarters,” he said. “This is an assassination attempt.”
Government forces also fired tear gas at the headquarters, Kamara said. There was no immediate confirmation from Sierra Leone’s government about the events late Sunday.
Concern over violence has been on the rise, with at least one person reported dead and reports of disruptions and irregularities at the polls. The international community has appealed for restraint.
“We urge everyone to refrain from violence, respect the political choices of one another, and to reject the language of division and hate,” said a statement issued jointly by the European Union, France, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and the United States.
Image: APC/Kamara
