SOLDIERS in the West African state of Sierra Leone ousted the civilian government yesterday and President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah flew into exile in Guinea.
On national radio last night, a Major Jolly Paul Koroma, unknown to most in the country, announced himself as head of state and chairman of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), the name given to the group of soldiers that seized power earlier in the day.
Coup leaders announced a dusk to dawn curfew and warned Nigerian troops stationed in Freetown not to intervene. Residents reported continuing gunfire and looting by uniformed men hours after the coup spokesman appealed for calm.
A sergeant, who identified himself as one of the coup leaders, said the army had seized parliament and the government offices at State House, as well as the radio and television.
Heavy gunfire broke out soon after 5 a.m. from the direction of State House and the military headquarters, with troops using machineguns, mortars and rocket propelled grenades. Shooting continued into the early afternoon, and soldiers broke into housing compounds of UN staff and Lebanese businessmen, looting cars, fuel and household goods.
The soldiers called for the return to Sierra Leone of Mr Foday Sankoh, leader of the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF), who has been kept in a hotel suite in the Nigerian capital for the past two months by Nigeria's military authorities.
Mr Sankoh said the coup came as no surprise. "I was not informed by man of this coup but I had a vision from the Almighty a few days ago that something was about to happen in Sierra Leone," he said.
He denies he is being detained in Abuja and says his mission to the regional superpower is to see the military ruler, Gen Sani Abacha, and seek his contribution to the peace process. He has so far not been received by Gen Abacha or any senior Nigerian government official although he said be expected to meet the Foreign Minister, Mr Tom Ikimi, later this week and hoped to return home soon.
Sierra Leone has seen several coups and coup attempts in recent years. The soldiers, all enlisted men rather than officers, want the return from exile of Capt Solomon Musa, a former deputy military leader linked to coup allegations in 1993, and of Gen Julius Maada Bio, who led a successful coup in January 1996 before handing over to Mr Kabbah after elections.
Witnesses said about 20 heavily armed soldiers broke into the Pademba Road central prison and freed more than 600 inmates. Soldiers patrolling the streets wore red ceremonial uniforms instead of their usual green fatigues. One official said Nigerian troops had tried to prevent the Sierra Leonean soldiers entering certain areas.
"We are hereby informing our counterparts, the Nigerian forces, to know that this is a purely internal matter," the coup spokesman said on the radio. "We want them to put down their arms and return to their various deployment areas immediately."
A spokesman at State House said Mr Kabbah had been flown by helicopter to neighbouring Guinea, the usual refuge for ousted Sierra Leonean heads of state.
The army has shown growing signs of discontent with troop reductions specified under a peace agreement signed by Mr Kabbah and the RUF in November, and there has been tension between those who back Mr Kabbah's Sierra Leone People's Party, and northern tribes who feel marginalised by his government.
A rebel spokesman, Col Gborie said the activities of traditional hunters known as Kamajors would be banned. Under Mr Kabbah, they had been developed as a security militia in the southeast. There have been clashes between Kamajors and the army, and many soldiers resent the resources provided by the presidency.
. A spokesman for Concern said last night that both their aid workers in the country were safe, although Concern offices had been ransacked and looted. The agency hopes to evacuate both volunteers today on board a US ship.