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Youth Battles With Armed Robbers

Standard Times (Freetown)
NEWS
January 12, 2005
Posted to the web January 19, 2005

By Mohamed Issa

There was pandemonium at Calaba Town over the weekend when a fierce battle
ensued between armed robbers and apparently fearless youths at 1 Water Street,
Cola Tree, on Sunday morning around 2:am.
The battle was said to have cost the armed robbers heavily, with the vehicle
used in the attempted theft, a red coloured pod- poda van, with registration
number, ABR 630 arrested along with the driver, Alie Thomas.
Musa Sandy, one of the youths involved in the fight told Standard Times that
they were woken up by the sound of rapid gun shots and whistles used by the
robbers to terrify people in the vicinity.
"Their attitude reminded us of the January 6th invasion of Freetown by the
rebels," Sandy said.
Another victim of an earlier armed robbery in the area, Mr. Komba Fanda, a
photographer at the Lion Photo Studio, also narrated his bitter experience when
armed robbers stormed his house earlier in the week, noting that he lost many
valuable items including money.
Another lady, Mariama Koroma, who claimed to have seen the armed robbers from
her two-storeyed building, disclosed that they were twenty in number who
initially arrived in three vehicles, a black jeep, taxi car, and the arrested
poda-poda van.
Upon the visit of police to the scene, they stated that he was personally
delighted with the fearless performance of the youths and that there is every
need to empower them.
"This is the only way to handle the rampant menace of armed robbery in the
city," O.C. Operation east said.
Meanwhile police are investigating the matter.

   

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