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Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone, was jolted awake by gunshots on Sunday morning.

Armed men had tried to break into an armoury at a military base near the president's home, then attacked two of the city's main prisons, releasing some of the inmates.

At least 19 people, including 13 soldiers, died in the violence, according to the army.

The president has vowed to prosecute the gunmen - but what was their motive? Were they inspired by military takeovers elsewhere in the region?

"The days, weeks, even months leading to Sunday's events, there was no clue, none whatsoever that something of this nature would happen," says Valnora Edwin, a civil society advocate and political analyst based in Freetown.

"But in hindsight when you put the pieces together, you realize that there was a lot of discontent and something was bound to spark."

For Ms Edwin, there were a number of issues that may have contributed to Sunday's mutiny.

One of them is politics.

High unemployment means lots of people want steady government jobs, she explains. This means the stakes are high during elections - people feel they need to be affiliated with certain parties in order to have access to state jobs and other benefits.

"If your political party loses, that means someone else comes in and if you've been open about your political affiliation you lose all you have: influence, opportunities and access."

Sierra Leone's information minister and army spokesperson have said soldiers were among those responsible for Sunday's attack. This will come as little surprise to many Sierra Leoneans, including Ms Edwin.

She explains: "When a new government comes in, even within the military and the police, when it comes to promotions, transfers, retirement they favour certain ethnic groups.

"There's a lot of discontent among the military and police."

A bleak economic outlook may also have contributed to Sunday's events.

Like many countries in the region, Sierra Leone imports a lot of what it consumes, making consumers in the country vulnerable to external economic shocks. Inflation in Sierra Leone is over 50%.

Ms Edwin explains: "Other countries have put policies in place to cushion the effect as best as possible, but the current state of our economy leaves much to be desired. Something more needs to be done to cushion the impact of external shocks."

Alie, a 61-year-old businessman who lives in Freetown agrees that politics has an influence on the armed forces.

"Politics is in every sphere of life in this country. The security forces are hugely divided along these lines. Each administration that comes in tries to get rid of supporters of the opposition in the armed forces," he tells the BBC on condition that we do not publish his second name.

In June, President Julius Maada Bio was elected for a second term after narrowly avoiding a run-off.

The main opposition party, the All People's Congress (APC) questioned the result and boycotted parliament for four months. The stalemate only ended after mediation by the regional bloc Ecowas.