Officials from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are to meet on Friday in the Malian capital, Bamako, to discuss ways to resolve a border crisis sparked by armed groups that have attacked Guinean villages and military targets, AFP reported on Thursday.
The meeting was called by Malian President Alpha Oumar Konare, who chairs the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). He met this week with Liberia's President Charles Taylor and Guinean President Lansana Conte for preliminary discussions on ending the crisis.
There are nearly 500,000 refugees from Liberia and Sierra Leone living in Guinea. Although Sierra Leonean armed groups are embroiled in the border conflict, the dispute is mainly between the governments of Liberia and Guinea. Each accuses the other of harbouring dissidents seeking to destabilize its government.
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