Guineans have taken over Yenga, a disputed border that is found in Kailahun district in East Sierra Leone. Guinean troops entered Yenga more than a decade ago, to help the Sierra Leonean army fight rebels. They have refused to let go of the town despite several regional diplomatic efforts.
Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio had earlier called on the sub-regional bloc Ecowas to intervene in a potential conflict between his country and its neighbor Guinea. Addressing an Ecowas summit of heads of state, Bio said that Guinean troops were encroaching into his country’s territory, Yenga which has been the subject of a long-standing dispute between the two countries.
Guinean military personnel have now mounted a strong deployment with a border demarcation with the inscription, since 1886. The Sierra Leone government has not responded to this new development. But a source close to the government said it is very concerned with this development as the country moves to a crucial election.
