-Liberia-Guinea Border Dispute Leaves Displacement, Affects Education and Agriculture
By Jerromie S. Walters
LOFA COUNTY, Liberia – What began as a cross-border incursion by Guinean soldiers last week has rapidly escalated into a full-blown humanitarian and security crisis in northern Liberia, with residents of Foya District now fleeing their homes and abandoning their farms. As diplomatic efforts scramble to catch up with events on the ground, citizens are urging the government to take swift action to prevent a catastrophe.
The dispute, centered in the Sorlumba Clan along the Makona River, entered its second week on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, with internal displacement. Despite a high-level emergency summit between the presidents of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone on Monday aimed at de-escalation, Guinean troops remained present in the contested area on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, leaving border communities in a state of fear and uncertainty.
Residents report that the threat of further violence has emptied entire villages. A resident at the border on Tuesday named four communities that have been virtually abandoned. “Our people are displaced. Ma, nobody is there. Baladu, nobody. Solunma is almost empty. Lepalu is almost empty. This will cause real hunger in the next few weeks,” the resident said. According to local journalists, each of these areas is home to dozens of individuals.
The dispute was ignited last week when Guinean soldiers crossed the Makona River—the acknowledged natural boundary—and seized equipment from a Liberian sand-mining operation. The troops raised a Guinean flag on Liberian soil, claiming the area for their country. While local citizens bravely confronted the intruders and re-hoisted the Liberian flag, the situation turned violent days later when Guinean forces returned and opened fire on residents, wounding a Liberian man.
Lofa County Superintendent J Lavelah Massaquoi, who has been on the ground assessing the situation, confirmed the dire consequences for the civilian population on Tuesday as indicated by the residents. He stressed that the impact extends far beyond the immediate security threat, crippling the very foundations of daily life. “Nobody is going to make farm this year. No school will be there,” Superintendent Massaquoi said. “We gat to take into consideration all of these issues right now.”
He emphasized that these fundamental disruptions are precisely why civilians must remain peaceful and why a swift resolution from the central government is so critical. “It is we the government that supposed to protect you. You cannot protect yourself and that’s why you must not make decision on your own,” he told the citizens. “If you make a decision on your own, it might be good, it might be bad.” The Superintendent expressed deep frustration over the continued presence of Guinean soldiers, especially in the wake of the peace dialogue between the regional leaders.
Superintendent J Lavelah Massaquoi questioned the sincerity of the Guinean military’s posture. “I will call all the people that I am supposed to call… that the situation here is not good for our people,” Massaquoi stated. “Every time they say we came for peace but you can’t come for peace with gun in your hands. You could do anything at any time.” Recounting a recent attempt to communicate directly with the Guinean forces on Tuesday, Massaquoi described a stalled interaction.
“I went there, the people spoke Kissi to them so that I could talk to them but they said they are army people, they gat to talk to their bosses and they called their bosses and they said I should call them to Guinea.” Faced with this deadlock, the Superintendent said he would escalate the matter to the highest levels of government. “The Superintendent said I should call him. So I will have to go and call the Minister (of Local Government) or to the Mansion and let the people know the situation on the ground.”
While he urged civilians to remain calm and civil as he engages authorities in Monrovia, Massaquoi also amplified their core demand: that Liberia’s sovereignty be protected. “Don’t allow these people to take the land,” he told them. The developments in Lofa stand in contrast to the message of unity and reconciliation provided by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai upon his return to Monrovia on Monday evening.
Following an emergency summit in Conakry with Guinea’s transitional leader President Mamadi Doumbouya and Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, President Boakai struck an optimistic tone.! “We all realized that we are the same people. That we have been working together for years and we have nothing to gain from war and that we shouldn’t waste time on war,” President Boakai stated upon his arrival at Roberts International Airport.
“We need to be friends and help to develop our people, and we all agreed on that.” The trilateral meeting, held under the Mano River Union (MRU), resulted in a joint communiqué outlining a 12-point roadmap for peace. This includes a commitment to maintain the status quo ante along the borders, bolster security cooperation through joint patrols, and engage in dialogue to prevent future incidents.
However, the sight of Guinean soldiers on the same disputed ground on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after the summit’s conclusion, has left Liberians questioning the efficacy of the diplomatic breakthrough.
A key concern among citizens in Lofa, and now the broader public, is the lack of clarity on the fundamental issue: who owns the land?
Meanwhile, the Liberian government has announced the immediate suspension of all mining activities in the contested border area of Lofa County. The government says this is intended to de-escalate a military standoff with neighboring Guinea.
According to a press release issued from the Capitol on Tuesday, the order specifically halts “all activities of BK Enterprises, as well as sand mining or any other mining activities of any other companies in the Lofa border area.” The suspension will remain in effect pending the outcome of a comprehensive investigation by Liberia’s National Security Council, which is expected to probe the root causes of the dispute.
