Sierra Leone’s government announced Tuesday that Guinea has detained multiple members of its security forces, marking another escalation in an ongoing territorial disagreement between the neighboring West African nations.
Officials from Guinea have not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the allegations.
The border conflict between these two countries has persisted since Sierra Leone’s civil war from 1991 to 2002, during which Guinea sent military forces to assist in fighting rebel groups.
According to a Tuesday social media post from Sierra Leone’s information ministry, military and police personnel were building a border checkpoint and additional structure in the frontier community of Kaliyereh on Monday when Guinea’s military forces entered the area.
The ministry’s statement indicated that Guinea’s forces detained “several members of the joint security team, including an officer” and confiscated weapons and military equipment.
“Government is actively engaging through established diplomatic and security channels to confirm their location and secure their safe and unconditional release,” the official statement declared.
Authorities have dispatched an investigative team to the region to examine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
