"The decision is as a consequence of recent political unrest emanating from Bo (in the south) and Kono (in the east) and intelligence reports of pending attacks and counter attacks on political opponents," police boss Francis Munu said in a statement.

"In a wider security interest for peace, it has been deemed necessary to observe a cooling period from the hanging threats of crime, fear and disorder by imposing a blanket ban on all political rallies, processions and public meetings until further notice," the release said.

"All political meetings should be confined to political party offices as the National Electoral Commission (NEC) has not published the timetable for the 2012 elections which are still over one year away," it said.

Munu and the Police Executive Board summoned the country's four registered parties to a "consultative meeting to discuss ways to avoid political violence" during the campaign.

The secretary-general of the ruling All People's Congress (APC), Victor Foh, said his "party is working within the ambit of the law and will always ensure the prevalence of peace and stability in the country."

The leader of the main opposition Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), John Benjamin pointed out that "the future of Sierra Leone is in the hands of the Police force but we would give support to you to crack down on all those involved in violence."

The relatively small but influential opposition People's Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) "denounced political violence and jungle justice" in the country.

The government recently set up a five member presidential committee to investigate the causes of the political skirmishes in Bo and Kenema.

The west African state, where one of the continent's bloodiest civil wars raged for a decade until 2002, holds presidential and legislative elections in 2012.