Sierra Leone's President Julius Maada Bio on Saturday called on the sub-regional bloc Ecowas (Economic Community of West African States) to intervene in a potential conflict between his country and its neighbour Guinea.
President Bio told an Ecowas summit of heads of state that Guinean troops were encroaching into his country's territory, citing a border village called Yenga which has been the subject of a long-standing dispute between the two countries.
“Sierra Leone observes with deep concern the increased instances of incursions by Guinean troops in the Yenga area which is in the undisputed sovereign territory of Sierra Leone," said President Bio.
Yenga is situated in the eastern Kailahun district of Sierra Leone. It is connected to Guinea by a river.
The row over its ownership started after Sierra Leone's civil war in 2002. It was a base for Guinean troops who served among foreign intervention forces in the eleven years civil war.
After the war, the Guineans extended their stay, amidst claims by the country that it belonged to Guinea.
The issue brought the two Mano River Union countries closer to conflict on several occasions in the past.
Leaders of the two countries have held several meetings with the goal of resolving the issue diplomatically.
Until now, the general feeling has been that the issue had been resolved after a 2012 meeting between Guinea's President Alpha Conde and former Sierra Leonean president Ernest Bai Koroma, during which an announcement was made of the demilitarisation of the area, although Sierra Leonean troops were not allowed there.
And in 2019, under the new Bio administration, the government announced that the Guineans had consented to hand over the area to Sierra Leone.
"The issue remains unresolved and our Guinean counterparts have continued to encroach on Sierra Leone’s land and sea borders,” President Bio told the 58th Ordinary Session of the Ecowas Authority of Heads of State and Government, recommending for the regional body to "urgently" create a special committee to look into the issue through diplomatic engagement.
The latest reported incursion by the Guineans into Yenga comes amidst a brewing problem between the two countries stemming from Guinea's 2020 election.
Conde, who controversially ran for third term, after altering the country's constitution, had accused Sierra Leone's vice president of interference in the polls.
The Guineans eventually shut their border, creating what has been described as an economic crisis especially impacting the border regions which rely heavily on cross-border trade for their economic survival.
Bio told delegates at the Ecowas summit that he was "very concerned" about the restrictions imposed from the Guinean end on the free movement of goods and people between the two countries which he said had created a huge economic loss for both countries.
“I urge the government of the Republic of Guinea to consider removing these restrictions to enable the free movement of people, goods and services in order to promote cooperation, regional trade, and regional integration,” he said.
The summit, which was meant to discuss the report of the Ecowas Council of Ministers and deliberate on the political, economic, social and other issues affecting the region, was dominated by talks about insecurity in the sub-region.
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, who is the chairman of the bloc, raised concern over rising insecurity in the region, citing in particular the situations in Mali, northern Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Niger, and calling for concerted efforts to address the issues.
“This concerted effort, which must be a major priority objective of the community, is the best way for us to address collectively, the security challenge," he said.
The Ecowas Commission President, Dr Kassi Brou, an Ivorian, urged member countries to urgently work towards implementation of its action plan against terrorism.
