Guinea–Liberia relations
Guinea–Liberia relations are the bilateral diplomatic relations between Guinea and Liberia. The two countries share a state border with a total length of 590 km.
History
On 24 December 1989, the First Liberian Civil War began, triggered by Charles Taylor and the NPFL. In 1991, the conflict spread to neighboring Sierra Leone when rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), led by Foday Sankoh, began using Liberia as a base for NPFL-supported attacks on border towns in Sierra Leone. As a result of these events, by 1992 approximately 120,000 people had fled from Sierra Leone to Guinea due to RUF attacks against civilians.
In 2001, Liberian forces, together with the RUF, began attacking and burning refugee camps and Guinean villages along the border. In a public speech, Guinean President Lansana Conté accused refugees of destabilizing the border region and stated that the vast majority of refugees were insurgents.
Conté called on the population of Guinea to defend the country. This led to attacks, beatings, rape, and abductions of refugees by Guinean police and armed forces. Sharp changes in Guinea's refugee policy further intensified the crisis as Liberian civilians attempted to return to territories controlled by the RUF. According to estimates by the United Nations, by 2002 around three million people, or approximately one in five inhabitants of the Mano River Union countries, had been displaced from their homes.
See also
- Foreign relations of Guinea
- Foreign relations of Liberia
- Guinea–Liberia border
References
Liberia Guinea