The Paramount Chief of Lauwa Chiefdom in the Kailahun District Hon. PC Mohamed Banya VI has expressed his displeasure over the persistent occupation by Guinean troops of the Yenga enclave where he said some 7 villages were now lost to them.
Responding to questions regarding access to residents who previously occupied Yenga, the Chief said since the war broke out in the country he has not been able to access inhabitants of that community as most of them fled for safety abandoning some 7 villages within the Yenga territory. He stated further that people are afraid to return to Yenga because of the security threat.
He went on “I am the Hon. Paramount chief representing all the paramount chiefs in Kailahun district in parliament and Yenga falls within my constituency for which I am therefore very much concerned.”
Places like Wiama village, Diandi, Yelima where Guinean troops currently mount their military artilleries and other surrounding villages where people used to cultivate farms are all under Guinean occupation while the inhabitants are serving as refugees in their own country.
On the revitalization of the once glorious international market in Koindu, the Paramount Chief stated that, it is very unlikely for Koindu to regain its former glory as most businessmen who left at the height of the war were now exposed to the international business arena where they enjoy a lot of opportunities and facilities.
He said Yenga is just 2 miles from Koindu for which reason business people might not be willing to return for fear of other losses.
Recently the Minister of Internal Affairs Local Government and Community Development Ambassador Dauda Kamara confirmed that, the Guinean troops came in to help at the height of the war by joining other troops from ECOWAS countries to bring an end to the rebel war in Sierra Leone but had since the end of the war been very slow to withdraw from Yenga. He made mention of the final report by technical committees from both Guinea and Sierra Leone that had been presented to President Koroma through the Foreign Affairs Minister for a peaceful and diplomatic resolution to the Yenga impasse.
By Solomon Rogers