Mano River countries to set up joint border patrols

Defence and security ministers from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have agreed to deploy joint patrols along their borders. The agreement came at a meeting of the joint security committee of the Mano River Union (MRU), which comprises the three countries. According to the final communique of the three-day meeting, which ended on Friday, the committee agreed on the deployment of joint border security and confidence building units to involve the people of the MRU in their common security and to discourage the proliferation of arms and ammunitions. The ministers further agreed on the modalities for the repatriation of refugees, a frequent exchange of visits and the sharing of intelligence on all security concerns. They also agreed that the subregion's people must be adequately educated so that a culture of peace can be promoted. According to the joint communiqué, the committee set a timetable for these and other elements of their workplan, which also includes finetuning the legal approach required to address the issue of dissidents fighting the governments of the three countries.