FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) Sierra Leone's media commission has suspended a newspaper for reporting that the Islamic extremist rebels of al-Shabab were planning to attack a main government building.
In a statement Sunday, the Media Commission said the newspaper, Watchman, would be suspended for one month over Friday's front-page report headlined "Al-Shabab to Attack Youyi Building." It said the report created "panic" among employees of ministries housed in the building.
Last week, Sierra Leone bolstered security at government buildings because of the threat posed by al-Shabab, which last month killed at least 67 people in an attack on a Kenyan mall that came as retaliation for Kenya sending troops into Somalia two years ago.
Sierra Leone deployed an 850-member battalion to the African Union mission in Somalia earlier this year.
