Defense and intelligence officials confirmed to FrontPageAfrica Monday that soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia have been deployed to Voinjama in a bid to beef up their forces in readiness for joint patrols with their Guinean counterparts along the stretch of the Guinean Liberian border areas of Lofa County. This follows a decision of the Liberian National Securiry Council in fulfillment of decisions reached after a national security meeting last week.
Monrovia- Next-door neighbors Liberia and Guinea on Monday began the process of fortifying the borderline linking the two countries amid concerns from Guinea that dissidents are in Liberia recruiting former rebels of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Development(LURD). On Monday morning, AFL Troops were seen arriving in Voinjama, Lofa County as both countries mount their presence to cement the market area. This comes just days after the Liberian government turned over Ibrahima Khalis Cherif, Guinea says has been the point man recruiting former Lurd rebels in Liberia.
By Rodney D. Sieh, [email protected]
Liberia is bound to the north by Guinea, one of its neighboring countries with which it shares its land border. The international border delimiting the two West African countries is 350 miles in length. The border starts at the tripoint connecting the two countries to Sierra Leone from where it extends eastwards until it meets the Liberia-Ivory Coast-Guinea tripoint.
On Monday, Defense Ministry sources, speaking on condition of anonymity after viewing photographs of AFL soldiers in Voinjama, said, “the Soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia have been deployed to Voinjama to beef up their forces in readiness for joint patrols with their Guinean counterparts along the stretch of the Guinean Liberian border areas of Lofa County. This follows a decision of the Liberian National Security Council in fulfillment of decisions reached after a national security meeting last week. “We are trying to upgrade our strength in Voinjama, to a company size as well as increase presence in Foya, Zorzor and Quardo Gboni,” said the senior official who is not authorized to speak on the matter publicly.
The official added: “Based on what has been coming. We don’t want anyone to use our borders for anything funny. We are trying to deter that thought from the minds of anyone trying to anything sinister.
The increase in troops on both sides of the border comes just days after the Liberian government took a controversial move to extradite Ibrahima Khalil Cherif, a Guinean national accused of recruiting for Lurd Rebels to overthrow the junta in Guinea. The condition of Cherif since he was turned over to the Guinea Junta remains unclear.
FrontPageAfrica has learned that both the AFL and the Ministry of Defense are awaiting approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before moving closer to the Guinean border. “It’s true that our soldiers are in Voinjama, but we have not yet advanced to the border. “The troops landed in Voinjama, and the people have welcomed them. The intent is to get to the border, but we are waiting for further instructions. The Guineans have already been informed but we are awaiting to hear from them through the foreign ministry. By the time we hear from them we will make our move to cement our border with Guinea.”
