By Lansana Fofana
FREETOWN, Jun 25 1998 (IPS)

Rumours of planned rebel attacks on Liberia to unseat the government of President Charles Taylor have forced the leadership in that country to tighten its borders with neighbouring Sierra Leone.

According to reports reaching Sierra Leone, dissident Liberians, including former fighters of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) who were not integrated into Liberia’s post-war army, are re-grouping in an unnamed neighbouring country to invade Liberia.

The rattled Liberian President Tuesday sent a high-powered, five-member delegation to Sierra Leone for consultations with President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah. The team discussed the volatile security situation in the sub-region, and especially along the Mano River which borders Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Liberia’s delegation was led by Senator Kekura Kpoto who told President Kabbah that: “The Liberian President and indeed, the entire government is prepared to work closely with President Kabaah to ensure peace and stability in the two countries.

“President Taylor’s fears are that dissident Liberians are reportedly regrouping in Sierra Leone to destabilise Liberia,” he continued.

The delegation also acknowledged that former NPFL fighters are helping the rebels of the ousted Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) who have caused insecurity in Sierra Leone’s eastern districts.

“President Taylor’s government will do all in its power to stop Liberian mercenaries from crossing the border into Sierra Leone to aid the junta troops,” Kpoto said.

Relations between Sierra Leone and Liberia have been at a low ebb since Liberia’s civil war spilled over into Sierra Leone in March 1991. Rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), who invaded Sierra Leone to fight against the government, also included NPFL fighters.

This week’s admission by Taylor’s government of former NPFL fighters inside Sierra Leone is a complete turn around from past denials by Taylor and his Defence Minister, Daniel Cheah, that Liberians fighters were helping the ousted junta troops.

“The tables have turned,” said Bockarie Sillah, a war correspondent for a local newspaper. “Mr Taylor is now trying to woo President Kabbah, so that dissidents may not invade Liberia and unseat him”.

President Kabbah assured the Liberian delegation that his government would not tolerate any dissident group using Sierra Leone’s territory as a launching pad for attacks on Liberia.

“My government will arrest and extradite any Liberian dissidents who may want to use Sierra Leone as a base to destabilise Liberia,” the President told Kpoto and his delegation.

Two weeks ago, at President Taylor’s request, a meeting of the Mano River Heads of State was convened to discuss sub-regional security. The leaders included Lansana Conte of Guinea and President Kabbah of Sierra Leone. The Liberian President however, did not attend this meeting, and sent a delegation on his behalf.

At this week’s meeting in Freetown, the Liberian delegation stressed the need for a bilateral military pact between Liberia and Sierra Leone. President Taylor already has approved the deployment of ECOMOG troops alongside UN monitors on the Sierra Leone/Liberia border.

The West African Peacekeeping Force(ECOMOG), which ousted the AFRC junta in February and returned the civilian government of President Kabbah to power, monitors all military activities involving cross-border operations.

Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Tuesday began the repatriation of some 7000 Liberians from Sierra Leone. The first batch of 175 men, women and children left Freetown Tuesday on board a UNHCR chartered vessel.

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