the gunman went on a rampage after a family dispute. emily: former u.s. president act after the fbi seized classified documents from his florida state earlier this week. a judge has unsealed the search warrant. documents seized include information on the pardon for roger stone and on french president emmanuel macron. the acclaimed and controversial author is on a ventilator after

a stabbing attack. his novel "-- he suffered injuries to his abdomen at a literary event. he has undergone surgery and a suspect has been arrested. former u.s. national security advisor to donald trump is described as tantamount to war in an exclusive interview to al jazeera. john bolton says the evidence is overwhelming. washington accuses iranian revolutionary guard member of being involved in the plan. prosecutors say it was likely in retaliation to the u.s. ground strike that killed iran's late out codes force, custom soleimani. stay tuned for inside story. ♪

>> rising living costs trigger violent otests isierra leone. demonstrators want the president to resign. how soon should the government respond? could record high fuel and food prices spark unrest elsewhere in the region? this is inside story. ♪ >> hello and welcome to the program. calm has returned to sierra leone following a rare violent protest. at least 21 demonstrators and six police officers have been killed. the government has imposed a nationwide curfew.

hundreds angry at the rising cost of living rallied in the capital and to the north of the country. demonstrations turned violent, with some calling for the president to resign. police have been accused of using excessive force. the president says the unrest is terrorism instigated by sierra leoneans living abroad. the government says it is monitoring social media for information that could destabilize the state. >> we do not have freedom of speech, and there is no respect for women, and the economy is down, and the cost of living is very high. because of it, we are suffering. >> what we are supposed to have is not there anymore. our husbands are the ones working. we are the ones taking care of home. we have three to four children

to feed, something we cannot afford. three to six cents used to be enough to buy lunch for our children. even if we have doubled that now, it is not enough. that is why we are asking the government to reduce prices on all commodities, because the cost of living is making us suffer. >> our correspondent is in freetown with this report. >> on a regular basis, the streets would be full of human and vehicular traffic. now that traffic is gone from the streets of this once vibrant city. a lot of people do not feel safe enough to go onto the streets. shops are supposed to have fully reopened. a lot of traders are staying home and not opening their shops, fearing things could erupt once again and cause them losses. the government is trying to reduce the cost of petrol, especially at petrol stations. however, to make the situation worse for people, some of these

stations are refusing to open and sell to members of the public. that means there will be shortages, and when shortages are there, the cost of transportation will go up because the black market will thrive. people eat. sources, opportunities, and money to put food on the table for members of their families. this is a country that has not fully recovered from the crisis of the past years. and in the challenges of the global food supply chain. this is a country defendant -- dependent on imports, even food. a lot of it has to be imported for the public. that is coming at very high prices, which the government does not have the money to do that. even the richest of countries in africa are really struggling to address these challenges. a lot of people are watching closely to see what happens in the next few days, whether the government will try to address these issues, but the biggest problem is the rising cost of

living. >> sierra leone had been relatively stable since the end of an 11 year civil or in 2002. the u.n. estimates at least 70,000 people were killed and more than two point 6 million, or half of the population, displaced in one of the bloodiest conflicts in africa. today the nation faces different problems. it ranks near the bottom of the global hunger index and the u.n. 's human develop an index, a benchmark of prosperity. that has been exacerbated by the war in ukraine. the african development fund released a grant to produce food production. economic growth productions have been revised down from 6% to just 3.8%. let's bring in our guests today. pointing us via skype -- joining us via skype from nigeria is ovigwe eguegu, the policy

analyst of development reimagined. marcella samba-sesay is the executive director of the campaign for good governance in sierra leone. she joins us from nairobi. and ken ife is a development economist and lead consultant to the ecowas commission. iq for joining us. marcella, if we could start with you, sierra leone ends have enjoyed many years of peaceful living since the civil war. how surprised are you by wednesday's violence? >> i am surprised. it was painful to watch the tragic videos on social media. that is not sierra leone. we all have agreed that never again would we -- to violence. we agree to reconciliation.

for 20 years, already a -- our demographic trajectory is trending toward reconsolidation and reconstruction. we agree that will speak through the ballot box. that is the real violence allowed allowed by agree protesters. that is why institutions condemn that sort of violence. we believe strongly that citizens have the right to express their views and opinions of government, but because of our conflict in the past, we have always promoted non-conflictual means of engagement. >> why do you think we did see

such violent confrontations between protesters and the police? >> if we look at sierra leone's arc, coming from civil war in 1981 to 2001. we see that there is a lot of reason to be very cautious whenever there is hostility among the population, because this can get out of control very fast. in just a short time [indiscernible] people are already killed. in ghana, there were some protests in a year leading up to the election. you have to be very cautious of that, and that is why to some extent i would support the government effort to quickly step in and put out a curfew and

zero-tolerance for the protests, because the fragility and the low trust level within sierra leone is very high because of the traumas of the civil war. from that perspective, it is why i would say the security forces have to step in the way they did. was it the best approach? i don't think so, but given the past, these measures need to be taken to make sure it does not spiral out of control. >> ken, what do you make of the response? ken: i would like to address the comments made by my colleagues. they do not know where to go, especially when you have a history of civil war. neglect all wounds and things get out of control. sierra leone is a dynamic

economy. i am so proud of that country as a member of ecowas. we know they have a fair share of disruptions. supply chain disruptions. it is not just the civil war. they went from there to covid-19 and now to russian conflict. this is universal. everybody is going through this pain. now to take a step backwards. there is a lot of help coming. the world bank needs help. we are starting to support them. but they should not break up. >> ovigwe suggested the curfew is a good idea, to let passions on both sides calm down. do you agree with that? 3 definite -- ken: this is political violence

and social upheaval. you need to have conflict. host: there is a curfew in place. we know it is difficult to get in touch with people from the outside of sierra leone. there is a bit of a vacuum happening. do we expect the government to come forward? do we expect the government to address the nation? do we need to hear from the president right now? marcella: absolutely. but we are pushing for right now is to ensure that the information vacuum is closed. citizens want to hear from the leaders. there have been several places for dialogue with groups, young people. sierra leone ends must understand that the social economic situation --

socioeconomic situation that we face in our country, violence is not the option. we need political leaders to ensure that we take away the violent communication and we feel that in with citizenship, because there is currently a communication deficit. unfortunately, that has been ported by violent information, especially coming from the diaspora, using audio and video of incitement. it is that void that we are calling government to use communication persons to talk to citizens and engage them, to communicate their plans. what is it that government has? we have not been able to translate democracy into real

economic dividends for citizens, so government must be able to take charge. it is excellent for the president to speak to us. the youths are really exploited. why should we do all of this? there is a polarization and intolerance of politics in sierra leone. it is a partisan country, but speaking to people -- especially when we are coming to the elections, what is it? they should be able to give citizens hope instead of distress. host: what role does the diaspora play in sierra leone?

we have had the president saying that there are -- that they are responsible, sierra leone and outside the country are largely responsible for this violence which he calls acts of terrorism. he suggests there is a more sinister element to these protests, suggesting that people outside the country are trying to overthrow him. is this correct, or is it paranoid? >> african countries tend to have very complicated relationships with the diaspora, but because many of the people who might emigrate from their home countries are doing so because they want better life, they want a different environment, so the memories they have of their countries are often not very good compared to where they are, and that usually clears into the dynamics within the country. however, if you look at the

figures for sierra leone, it is still very encouraging. life expectancy is 44 years. sierra leone is seventh [indiscernible] these figures actually mean something on the ground. they complain about these issues i am speaking about. and some populations tend to have the means -- a memory that is a little diverse in reality but also very much related. they tend to use their power and voice to amplify the problems around development in a country. however, i always emphasize that

it is very irresponsible for people who do not live in a country to call for regime change. you are not going to be on the front lines when things get messed. that is what we are seeing today. those who have called for protest and uprising, it is fine, but they have to be cautious. none of them is in the diaspora. those calling for protest are very safe in their homes. why would political auction -- the local context is crucial. i think the sierra leone diaspora needs to be careful when they are making their demands and what solutions they are pushing. >> so it came from your position that in london, what do you see the role of diaspora being in these protests? >> this is not a time for blame

or accusations. i think the government has to improve all communication channels and be more inclusive. we have to build bridges. we have to have a diaspora commission that reaches out to them, have more creative and energetic relationships. in this day of social media, they played to the extreme, and that is not what we want. they can play a significant role. they used to bring $6 billion to the economy by the [indiscernible] and there are many abroad who should be minded to think in some way and comfortable with more positive. but it all depends on how the government reaches out.

you have to have positive policy and engagement. all kinds of measures to reach out. these are her people. they could contribute more to development and peace and prosperity of the nation. i worked in west africa, and i the point i was developing policy, they took it away as they were implementing it in sierra leone. in terms of start, sierra leone is well ahead. they are doing digital funded channels where they can, but there are a lot of challenges. they need cooperation. host: this is a country that's got a lot to give, and it's got a very dynamic population. why is it facing such a dire economic situation?

marcella: it is very important. i mentioned earlier about how we mobilize and tie our interest into the economic trajectory of our country. the youth are there, the population has increased over 80% -- the population has increased. over 80% of our population are young people. unemployment is real. how does one turn their aspirations into real dividend? that is what you see as a country. we need to address the youth faction. the situation is that they are a readily available resource for violence. so the government must make that a priority so that the young people will understand that there are programs in place. the world is now connected. the youth will not have money.

they will have money to listen to what is happening around the world, or have money to buy goods and listen to incitement so government must ensure that the youth factor becomes a priority and design programs for them, and for them to feel a part of the society. >> can protests over living costs, such as these, where people have little left to lose -- they tend to have a habit of gaining momentum and spreading. what is your concern that they might spread across the region, out of sierra leone, to other countries in west africa? >> every country in west africa has their own challenges. insecurity is by far the greatest challenge in the region. it is not going to be the same as in north africa, when we had the arab spring. we are not going to have that type in west africa.

that is a different ballgame. but the security is far more progressive in the region. having said that, our governments have to stop the situation that has degenerated. this is the tip of the iceberg. host: ovigwe, your responses to the challenges sierra leone is facing. our cella says the youth need to be engaged and need to be prevented -- marcella says the youth need to be engaged and need to be prevented from turning towards violence. what does the government need to do? ovigwe: create jobs, because it is unemployment that can prevent the democratic boom from democratic doom. africans as a whole will be 2.4

billion people by 2050. 2050 is less than 30 years away. if we do not find a way to ensure that this new -- people will get jobs and access to upward progression, then it will be difficult to keep the security situation stable. right now, if you look at sierra leone's economic structure, like many african countries, it is a commodity exporter. you have wood and aluminum. many jobs that remain as commodity exporters are not going to go to value addition.

if everybody possesses aluminum, you were going to create a value chain, and the value chain is going to require a lot of and power -- a lot of manpower. the issue of building dialogue and getting with youth, that is the immediate step. if people are pacified and given promises of better life and you do not believe in that -- also, they are going to take up arms. this might be worse. host: marcella, just to jump in, it is a difficult climate to create jobs. do you think this government is able to do that? marcella: they should be able to look at all initiatives. my colleagues talk about, how do we do value addition? sierra leone is a very fertile ground for innovation and creativity.

we must look inwards to see that youth are fully and edged, and -- fully engaged, and to make sure adjustments are made in agriculture, for example. the youth unemployment is a critical concern, and the economic realities they face on a daily basis israel. -- is real. we should not turn a blind eye to that. look inwards and look at holmgren initiatives. -- homegrown initiatives. make sure that sierra leone ans are able to be guided towards psychological development and change to feed ourselves. host: we've got 30 seconds left. ken, are you optimistic this government can manage this crisis? ken: of course i am. sierra leone is an agrarian economy. gdp is about 58% or 60%.

unfortunately, the industrial side is only about 12%. that is reverse compared to other countries across west africa. it should be 58% for industry, 24 for agriculture, and 24 for value industry. we have to focus on value addition. there are some countries within the region that have actually poured in money and convergence of commercial farmers. commercial farmers, we have about 5 million farmers with loans with no collateral. get more youth into agriculture and push value addition. reporter: host: 5 -- host: i would like to end on an optimistic note, so we believe that there. thank you for joining us, all our guests today. and thank you too for watching.

you can see the program again any time by visiting al jazeera.com. and go to our facebook page, facebook.com/ajinsidestory. and you can find us on twitter at @ajinsidestory. bye for now. ♪ ñcñcñcñc

... dave severin: give me a "c." all: c. dave: give me an "o." all: o. eric campbell: from europe to the us, coal is under fire. dave: what's it spell? all: coal! eric: environmentalists are circling. mines and power plants are closing. even big corporations say it's not worth the trouble. josé rodriguez: we used to make money with coal, but this is not happening anymore. eric: are these the dying days for coal? and what's going to happen to mining communities? we're going to the coalface to find out.