Guinea denies taking census of foreigners

Guinea has not started a census of all foreigners as a means towards curbing violent crime as reported by news organisations, an official of the Interior Ministry told IRIN on Wednesday. "There has been neither police, gendarme nor army troops counting foreigners," the official said. Only neighbourhood leaders have been verifying the documents of residents in their areas, he added. The official was reacting to a report by Reuters news agency on Monday that a census had started on Saturday and was due to end on Wednesday. A news source in Conakry told IRIN on Wednesday that he was unaware of any head count, although the governor of Conakry had mooted the idea. Guinea's authorities have often accused rebels from neighbouring countries of taking advantage of the influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees from Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone to infiltrate Guinea and raid villages there. Guinea's authorities reported this month that Liberians had attacked the border village of Macenta, killing some 26 people. "What is certain is that much of the crime is not always linked to refugees," a media source in Conakry told IRIN. "The problem is one of suspicion because of the border tension between Liberia and Guinea."