{{The Sierra Leone military has confirmed the arrest of an unspecified number of soldiers over an alleged foiled mutiny.}}
Since Friday there have been reports that President Ernest Bai Koroma had cancelled a weekend trip to his northern home town of Makeni because of security threats.
The detention of the alleged conspirators was confirmed Saturday by Sierra Leone’ military chief, Major-General Samuel Omar Williams.
He told the bi-weekly Politico newspaper that the accused soldiers were arrested at the Tekko barracks in Makeni and then escorted to a holding centre in the capital Freetown.
He however would not say the exact number or the ranks of those detained.
The newspaper cited sources putting the number at between nine and twelve soldiers.
The botched mutiny allegedly targeted the person of the President.
Earlier on Friday, the online newspaper The New People, cited anonymous sources within State House who said the President had to cancel his scheduled trip to Freetown for security reasons.
There has been no immediate explanation of what the grievances of the men are.
“All of that is under investigation now and I cannot give you any more details,” Politico quoted army chief, Gen Omar Williams as saying.
This development comes hot on the heels of a Presidential decree on Thursday invoking a constitutional provision that hands over security to armed military men alongside the police. The decree affects two cities: Bo in the south, and Kenema in the east.
That decision, under the Military Aid to Civil Power (MAC-P) provision, was in response to alleged threats posed to the squabbling opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) convention in Bo this weekend.
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