Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Subject: IR

Section: Places in news

Context: Sierra Leone’s president declared a nationwide curfew after gunmen attacked the military’s main and largest barracks

More about the news:

• Sierra Leone’s president imposed a nationwide curfew following a violent attack by gunmen on the capital’s main military barracks, leading to the overrun of detention centers, including a major prison holding over 2,000 inmates.
• The incident has heightened concerns about a potential breakdown of order in the region, which has witnessed a series of military coups in recent years.

Some facts about Sierra Leone

• Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa.
• The country is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest
• The country’s capital, Freetown, was founded as a settlement for freed slaves in the late 18th century.
• Temne and Mende are the largest ethnic group of Sierra Leone.
•  The country is rich in natural resources, especially diamond, gold, bauxite and aluminum.
• Sierra Leone has one of the world’s largest deposits of rutile, a titanium ore used as paint pigment and welding rod coatings.