While the world obsesses over Trump, Sierra Leone begins week of mourning

Sierra Leone began a week of mourning on Wednesday as it emerged that 105 children were among over 300 people who perished in mudslides and torrential flooding, in one of the country's worst natural disasters.



With 600 people still missing in Freetown, President Ernest Bai Koroma described the humanitarian challenge ahead as "overwhelming".

In the US, Republican and Democrat lawmakers alike called for a strong condemnation of white supremacists, following President Donald Trump's sympathetic statement on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Sierra Leone's government is urging family members to identify their loved ones' remains following mudslides and floods in the capital that have killed more than 300 people.

In a statement released on Wednesday, President Ernest Bai Koroma's office asked relatives to come to the city's overwhelmed mortuary.

The statement says all unidentified corpses will be given a "dignified burial" in the coming days, reports The Independent.

The death toll is expected to rise after mudslides and floodwaters in and around Freetown this week killed hundreds of people, many of them trapped as they slept.



The Red Cross estimates that 600 people remain missing and among the victims are more than 100 children.

The risk of further mudslides remains, along with the risk of dangerous disease. The government of Sierra Leone has appealed for donations of equipment to help remove bodies.