By Alpha Abu
The frontier village of Yenga town which is at the centre of a dispute between Sierra Leone and Guinea has reportedly been entered into by Guinean soldiers who were said to have this time erected concrete pillars to demarcate boundaries between the two countries.
The latest move by the Guinean forces if confirmed would be the first time they have taken such an action and would be seen as an escalation of a crisis that has gone on for some two decades.
However, the Station Manager of Kissi Bendu FM radio in Koindu, Kailahun district, Kangoma Haku told Politico that before this latest development, Senior National Security officials from Freetown and military commanders in the provinces had gone across the border and held discussions with the Guinean authorities and later returned reassuring the people of their safety.
He said to their surprise the Guinean soldiers again returned and this time in a greater number and well-armed. They were said to have brought cement and sand which they used to immediately erected the pillars.
Haku said they’ve been told Sierra Leonean authorities will in the coming days be travelling across the border to continue their dialogue with the Guineans.
Guinean troop presence in Yenga town became obvious during Sierra Leone’s Civil war as it served as a forward deployment area for their soldiers who were fighting alongside the Sierra Leonean Army against rebel forces.
Though the war ended in 2002, the Guineans maintained some troops in the town for the most part, over the years, despite numerous diplomatic efforts between the governments of the two countries.
The Guineans reportedly withdrew their forces from Yenga in 2005 after serious talks between the two countries and demilitarisation of the area but have been drifting in and out since then.
In 2019 Sierra Leone’s then-Foreign Minister Alie Kabba embarked on a diplomatic initiative to end the dispute and was upbeat that the matter had been peacefully resolved and that the Guineans would leave the area.
The Guinean troops would in some instances leave Yenga and revert to their area across the Makona River but would not allow Sierra Leonean security deployment in the town.
This has created tension between the two neighbouring countries over the years, with locals in Yenga which is in the Kailahun District accusing the Guinean soldiers of harassment as they try to go about their daily activities.
Politico made efforts to reach one of the Kailahun district MPs Hindolo Moiwo Gevao but was unavailable. The substantive MP for the constituency where Yenga is located, Sahr Egbinda Juana was said to have travelled out of the country and could not be reached.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (03/03/23)
