Sierra Leone Apprehends Top Organizer of Failed Coup Attempt

The latest arrests bring to 60 the number of people detained in connection with the events of November 26, most of them members of the military.

"One of the organizers of the failed coup attempt on November 26, Amadu Koita, who was at the top of the wanted list, was arrested yesterday (Monday)," Information Minister Chernor Bah said at a press conference in Freetown.

A former soldier and bodyguard of former president Ernest Bai Koroma, Koita was widely followed on social networks where he criticized the government of current President Julius Maada Bio.

He was being harbored by a policewoman and a policeman, who were also arrested, the spokesman said.

During the early hours of November 26, armed attackers stormed a military armory, two barracks, two prisons and two police stations, clashing with security forces.

The fighting left 21 people dead, including 14 soldiers, according to Bah.

Among those arrested earlier in connection with the violence were 37 military personnel, 10 civilians, four dismissed military personnel, five serving police personnel and one retired police officer, deputy information minister Yusuf Keketoma Sandi told state radio on Monday.

President Bio said Saturday that the response to the coup bid would be dictated by "respect for the law."

West Africa has seen a series of coups since 2020 in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea.

Guinea-Bissau denounced an "attempted coup" last week.