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Liberia Reopens Borders With S. Leone, Guinea
The Liberian government Friday announced the reopening of its borders with Sierra Leone and Guinea, pledging to restore peace in the sub-region, according to reports reaching here from Monrovia.
Liberian President Charles Taylor made the announcement after he met with security and defense ministers of Guinea and Sierra Leone who had held talks with their Liberian counterpart aimed at resolving the border conflicts among the three member-states of the Mano River Union (MRU).
"We must do everything to bring peace to this region," Taylor was quoted as saying.
Earlier this year, Liberia closed its borders with the two neighbors, accusing Sierra Leone and Guinea of hosting its rebels to fight against the government.
However, since last month, the foreign ministers from the three neighbors have held a series of peace meetings to prepare a MRU summit and agreed to "foster good neighborliness, bearing in mind the interest of their countries as well as the historical links that bind their peoples".
To express his goodwill, Taylor told the ministers from the two neighbors that he regards Guinean President Lansana Conte as a big brother and Sierra Leonean President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah as a good friend.
On September 10, Conte commended that Taylor and Kabbah are " intelligent and responsible people", saying he is willing to meet his Liberian and Sierra Leonean counterparts in January next year to put an end to their current border crisis.
The Mano River Union was set up in 1973 in a bid to promote cooperation and economic development. Its member states have been involved in intensifying cross-border conflicts since 1990s.
Sierra Leone and Guinea blamed that Liberia supports Sierra Leonean rebels as well as armed rebel groups in Guinea. Liberia, in turn, accused the two neighboring countries of harboring dissidents in an attempt to overturn its government.
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