Guinean Troops Trigger Panic in Renewed Sierra Leone Border Standoff

A long-running border dispute between Sierra Leone and Guinea has flared again, after a military incident forced villagers to flee and reignited diplomatic tensions between the two West African neighbours.

On 28 April, Guinean soldiers fired three shots in the air as they attempted to enter the village of Sokoma, near Yenga – a mineral-rich settlement that has been contested for more than two decades.

The gunfire caused panic in nearby communities and sent residents fleeing south towards the…