Following their escape from the Pademba Road jail in Freetown, Sierra Leone is under curfew

 Following their escape from the Pademba Road jail in Freetown, Sierra Leone is under curfew

In response to armed men breaking into jails and releasing inmates, a national curfew was enforced in Sierra Leone.

According to the minister of communications for the West African nation, prisoners from several "major" prisons were freed early on Sunday.

Later, President Julius Maada Bio said that the majority of the attack's commanders had been taken into custody.

He called the events a "breach of security" and an assault on democracy in a speech that was broadcast on television.

He refrained from referring to them as a coup attempt.

He said that the peace was back, but he did not specify who the offenders were or what their goals were.

Since President Bio was barely able to escape a runoff election in June, the political climate in Sierra Leone has remained tight.

International observers have denounced violence and intimidation, as well as disparities in the count and a lack of transparency.

Curfew was declared promptly by the Information Ministry after the incident. Flights to and from the nation's only international airport have been canceled, and residents are "strongly" encouraged to remain indoors.

The BBC saw troops enter Freetown early in the morning, some claiming they intended to "clean up Sierra Leone" and others cradling heavy weaponry in a commandeered police car.

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Videos posted on social media seemed to show a number of inmates leaving the Central Pademba Road jail in Freetown, however it is unclear how many were released.

Popular rapper Boss LAJ, who was imprisoned for robbery last year, is shown going free in a video.

The BBC was unable to verify the authenticity of these videos.

A number of troops were detained in August on charges of attempting to overthrow the president.

Following a string of coups, eight nations in West and Central Africa—including Guinea, a neighbor—are ruled by the military.

The US, the UK, the EU, and the ECOWAS regional grouping all sharply denounced the violence that occurred on Sunday.