Sixteen Sierra Leonean security personnel abducted by the Guinean army on Monday have been released today following diplomatic talks led by Sierra Leone’s Foreign Affairs Minister Timothy Kabba.
Timothy Kabba was leading a high-level delegation to Conakry, where both governments’ officials are said to have engaged in settlement negotiations aimed at de-escalating tensions between the two countries over disputed borders, which have intensified in recent months.
Members of the Guinean armed forces crossed over the border to Sierra Leone earlier this week and captured a group of Sierra Leonean military personnel in Kaliyereh, Sulima Chiefdom, Falaba district.
Since 2020, the Guinean army has repeatedly advanced violently into resource-rich areas of Falaba and Kailahun, territories internationally and legally recognized as belonging to Sierra Leone, causing continued suffering for ordinary citizens.
A major incursion occurred last April when the Guinean army entered Yenga and forced hundreds of villagers to flee their homes. The Guinean forces have since established a full garrison in Yenga, declaring it a militarized zone under the direct control of their president, Col. Mamady Doumbouya.
Meanwhile, a member of parliament from Kissi Teng Chiefdom in Kailahun district has expressed concern over what he described as an imminent threat from Guineans side after a group of heavily armed personnel of the Guinean army this week also made an unauthorised entry into Sokoma village.
According to Hon. Fallah Tengbeh, the Guinean soldiers told the villagers and the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces personnel on the ground that they will soon come to take over Sokoma, a village just about 300 metres from the disputed Yenga town.
Back here in the capital, Freetown, many citizens have taken to social media to react to these ugly incidents. A segment of the population views the actions of the Guinean army as an “assault” on Sierra Leone’s sovereignty and is demanding a military response. Conversely, others advocate for maintaining a diplomatic strategy as the most prudent course of action.