20101129
africanews

Sierra Leone has expressed surprise at the sudden closure of its border with its fellow West African country Guinea over the weekend.

“We were taken by surprise because we did not expect that the situation in Guinea would gravitate to the point that it would lead to the closure of borders. But, we also know that Guinea has not been in a state of normalcy in the past several weeks, so we are not going to complain.

But, what we are worried about is the fact that some of our citizens are on the other side of the boundary, and we think that they should be allowed to return to Sierra Leone,” Sierra Leone’s Minister of Information Ibrahim Ben Kargbo told VOA.

Kargbo said Guinea’s recent presidential run-off election and the pending decision of the country’s Supreme Court about the election could have played a role in the decision to close the borders.

The authorities in Guinea are yet to give details about the late Saturday closure of their land, sea and air borders with Sierra Leone.