Sierra Leone steps up security measures against terrorist attacks

The recent attack at Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall has put much of the world on high alert, including the West African state of Sierra Leone. It sent a contingent of troops to Somalia earlier this year.al-Shabab fighters perform military exercises Farah Abdi(AP) Responsibility for the September attack in Nairobi that left more than 70 people dead was claimed by al-Shabab which is believed to have links with the al Qaeda terrorist network.Earlier this year al-Shabab issued a threat to any country sending troops to Somalia. Sierra Leone is one of those countries, having contributed 850 soldiers in April 2013. Following the Westgate mall incident, Sierra Leone has stepped up security across the country. Government spokesperson, Abdulai Bayraytay, said all necessary precautions were being taken on land borders, in the air and sea as well as in the capital of Freetown. A police officer checks the back of a vehicle in Freetown, Sierra Leone (Photo: Nina deVries) Security personnel are taking no chances in the capital Freetown following threats from al-Shabab.

“There are certain areas we have restricted, like George Street where we have the Sierra Leone police,” said Bayraytay, “also the Ministry of Finance, the vicinity around the bank of Sierra Leone and military and police installations.” The spokesman added that there is now more camera surveillance and authorities are also working with Interpol, the international police organization. In the western part of Freetown, James Sesay runs a small food and drink shop. He complains that since the Nairobi mall siege, business has slowed down as fewer people go out to eat due to al-Shabab threats. He is also worried about his two daughters and makes sure that they return home every day from school as soon as classes finish. “We are worried because we have experienced what is war, we have taken 10 years of war here, and we know what war is,” Sesay said in a reference to the country’s civil war which ended in 2002.