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Sierra Leone army arrests civilian ministers
May 26, 1997
Web posted at: 1:45 p.m. EDT (1745 GMT)
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (CNN) -- Sierra Leone's new military government has arrested five ministers of the civilian government ousted in a weekend coup, military sources said Monday.
Troops were conducting house-to-house searches to find other ministers, the sources said.
An obscure army major, Johnny Paul Koromah, named himself head of state Sunday after mutinous troops burned the national treasury and took over the legislature.
Koromah invited the leader of the rebel group that signed a peace agreement with the civilian government six months earlier to join the new government.
Foday Sankoh, head of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), had no comment about the invitation. The RUF waged a civil war with government troops beginning in 1991,
"You have to watch the situation before you talk," said Sankoh from the Nigerian capital Abuja.
At least 15 people were killed in the takeover Sunday, and 40 were injured. Fighting, looting and arson were the order of the day in downtown Freetown.
On Monday, the victorious troops roamed the streets of the capital in vehicles stolen from civilians and aid agencies. Heavy looting was reported throughout the city, although it was unclear who was responsible.
The military leaders placed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on the city and closed the country's borders and airport.
The soldiers gave varying reasons for their coup, the third in five years in this West African nation. The coup unseated President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah, who was elected in February 1996 to end five years of military rule. Kabbah's whereabouts were unknown after the coup, but he had reportedly fled to Guinea.
John Leigh, Sierra Leone's ambassador to the United States, accused the mutineers of taking power to "line their pockets" with cash.
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VXtreme streaming video of John Leigh interview on CNN
"It's going to bring more hardship and difficulty to the country, and that is not the way to make change," Leigh told CNN.
A coup spokesman said the troops were "not selfishly motivated."
International reaction was generally negative. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a statement he was "distressed" by the coup, while a statement from the South African government said it was "extremely concerned."
"This is a major setback to a process of democratization in Sierra Leone to which the international community attached great importance," the South African statement said.
The Lebanese government said two of its nationals were killed in the takeover when gunmen broke into a residence.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Sierra Leone rebel declares himself head of state - May 25, 1997
- Armed men stage coup attempt in Sierra Leone - May 25, 1997
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