By Staff Reporter
CONAKRY/FREETOWN – Guinea has released 16 Sierra Leonean soldiers and police officers who were arrested earlier this week in a disputed border area, in a move aimed at easing tensions between the two West African neighbours.
Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Information confirmed Friday that all the detained security personnel had been safely handed over to national authorities.
According to officials in Freetown, the officers were constructing a border post and another facility at the frontier town of Kaliyereh on Tuesday when Guinean armed forces allegedly crossed into the area and detained them.
Guinea, however, said dozens of armed Sierra Leonean soldiers had entered its territory without authorisation, prompting its security forces to apprehend them.
Speaking on Thursday, Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah of Guinea assured that the matter would be resolved swiftly through diplomatic channels.
The two countries share a 700-kilometre border, and tensions over territorial claims date back more than two decades. During Sierra Leone’s civil war, which ended in 2002, Guinea deployed troops to support the fight against rebel groups.
The latest confrontation occurred in an area long contested by both nations. Sierra Leone maintains that the territory falls within its borders, while Guinea continues to station troops there.
Both countries are members of the regional bloc Economic Community of West African States and the Mano River Union, alongside Liberia and Ivory Coast, frameworks that may play a role in facilitating dialogue and preventing further escalation.
