Armed men abduct missionaries, attack garrison

Unidentified armed men crossed the border from Sierra Leone before dawn on Wednesday, attacked a Guinean garrison and escaped with three Italian missionaries.

An undetermined number of attackers entered the border village of Pamalap, 100 km southeast of Conakry, and at one point had seized control of the garrison, a Western diplomat in Conakry told IRIN on Thursday. Guinea has sent reinforcements to the area, but it is unclear whether the garrison had been recaptured.

"The territorial integrity of our nation will be ensured by our armed forces. The defence of our nation is a responsibility which should be assumed by all," Radio Guinee reported.

The Bishop of Makeni in Sierra Leone, Monsignor Giorgio Biguzzi, identified the missionaries as the reverends Franco Manganello, 62, Vittoria Mosele, 64; and Giuseppe Giacomello, a volunteer, the Missionary news agency, MISNA, reported. They reportedly were helping Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea. Thousands of Liberian refugees have also sought safety in Guinea. One report said Mosele had been captured by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) fighters in February last year and released in April.

This is the third cross-border attack in Guinea in the past week. "Foraging back and forth for food is not uncommon," the diplomat said. "We're not sure whether it's something that really merits serious consideration (an attack against the Guinean government) or something that's just spilling over from Sierra Leone."

The identity of the those who attacked Pamalap has not been confirmed. Armed men from Liberia and Sierra Leone roam the border area of all three countries. Liberia and Guinea have traded accusations about harboring armed men allegedly seeking to destabilize one another's governments.