Sierra Leone on Tuesday accused neighbouring Guinea of sending soldiers across its northern frontier in a tense border clash.
The government said Guinean troops entered the border town of Kalieyereh on Monday, confronting Sierra Leonean security forces stationed there. According to the information ministry, the encounter escalated into a confrontation that ended with several officers detained.
Officials said the detained personnel were seized along with their weapons and ammunition during the incident. The ministry stated that Sierra Leonean officers had been making bricks for a planned border post and accommodation facility.
The project was intended to strengthen security operations in an area long marked by quiet but sensitive frontiers. Authorities said the national flag had been raised within territory internationally recognised as belonging to Sierra Leone.
During the clash, Guinean armed forces allegedly apprehended members of a joint security team, including an officer. They were then transported across the border into Guinean territory, officials in Freetown said.
Conakry has not publicly responded to the allegations, leaving the claims hanging in diplomatic silence. Freetown said it was actively engaging through diplomatic and security channels to secure the safe return of its personnel.
The two West African neighbours share a border stretching hundreds of kilometres through rural and forested terrain. Both countries are members of the Economic Community of West African States, known as ECOWAS.
They also belong to the Mano River Union alongside Ivory Coast and Liberia. The incident threatens to strain ties in a region where fragile borders often carry historic sensitivities and political weight.