Sierra Leone announced Friday the release of soldiers and police detained by Guinea after a sharp flare-up along their disputed border.
Authorities in Freetown said Guinean troops had seized the officers following clashes sparked by accusations of crossing into contested territory.
“All security officers arrested by the Guinean authorities have been safely handed over to Sierra Leone,” the information ministry said on social media.
Photographs released by the ministry showed uniformed personnel standing beside Foreign Minister Timothy Kabba after their return.
Guinea’s government confirmed that 16 members of Sierra Leone’s security forces had been arrested during the incident.
It said both sides agreed to establish a permanent joint commission to examine border disputes and prevent further confrontations.
Guinea’s Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah said Sierra Leonean authorities were informed their officers would be returned, and the transfer was completed.
On Thursday, Bah had pledged that the dispute would be resolved swiftly through diplomatic channels rather than military escalation.
Guinea and Sierra Leone share a border stretching more than 700 kilometres, a line often blurred by history and fragile trust.
Tensions along the frontier previously triggered alarm in April and May last year as troop movements unsettled local communities.
The latest incident unfolded in Yenga, a village contested for more than two decades and still occupied by Guinean soldiers.
Both countries are members of regional organisations including ECOWAS and the Mano River Union, frameworks designed to encourage cooperation over conflict.
