West Africa leaders to tighten borders after deadly attacks

Four west African Presidents have urged tighter border security in order to curtail growing border threats at following deadly attacks that have seen 22 people die in one week.

Leaders of the four-member Mano River Union economic bloc met Friday for a day-long extraordinary summit in Conakry, Guinea and called for a joint effort at plugging porous borders.

Those killed included seven United Nations peacekeepers from Niger following a cross border attack in Cote d'Ivoire mounted from inside Liberia.

"Reinforced cooperation between our countries is more important than ever, and we should expand this to all the members of Ecowas [bloc]," said Ivorian president Alassane Ouattara.

Also attending were the leaders of Liberia, Sierra Leone and host Guinea.

The meeting comes in the immediate wake of deadly attacks by an armed group suspected to be loyal to Ouattara`s predecessor, former President Laurent Gbagbo.

Last Friday`s attack followed a report by the pressure group Human Rights Watch blaming Liberia for ignoring the recruitment of children to stage cross border attacks by fighters loyal to the ousted Ivorian leader.

Liberia has denied this.

"Cote d'Ivoire has many border countries, and unfortunately the situation is not treated equally in each country," said President Ouattara.

Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf also urged "firm measures to deal definitively with this problem and avoid a reproduction of the instability we have all seen in recent years."
The two neighbours have been in disagreement over the origin of the attackers but Liberia has however lately announced a series of measures to crack down on suspects.

On Thursday, the government issued a list of "wanted people" in connection to the recent cross border attacks. They include Cote d'Ivoire former Youth minister and pro-Gbgbo youth leader, Charles Ble Goude, as well as over half a dozen former Liberian rebel fighters.

This followed several meetings both in Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire between officials of the two countries.

Friday`s Conakry meeting marked the first meeting between Presidents Sirleaf and Ouattara since the border issue escalated.

President Sirleaf earlier on Thursday denied that there was any problem between the two countries. "There is absolutely no bad relationship between Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire, we are best of friends. What we will do, will be done jointly by the two countries in the interest of our two people," she said.

The situation in Mali and Guinea Bissau was also reportedly on the agenda.