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Sierra Leone's Vice-President Samuel Sam-Sumana has been sacked for seeking political asylum in a foreign embassy, the president's office has said.

President Ernest Bai Koroma had dismissed him because he had "abandoned" his duties, it added.

On Saturday, Mr Sam-Sumana said he had asked for asylum in the US because his life was in danger.

It is unclear whether the constitution gives the president the power to dismiss his deputy.

The BBC's Umaru Fofana in the capital, Freetown, says there is no doubt that Mr Koroma's decision is controversial.