West African neighbours vow firmer hand on Guinea

Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast say they will step up efforts to bring Guinea back to civilian rule, following September’s coup.

All four countries are part of the regional group, the Mano River Union (MRU), which held a two-day conference in Libera where delegates committed to more rigorous engagement with Guinea’s military junta.

MRU Secretary General Medina Wesseh told the BBC that his team was asked to talk to the authorities in Guinea “to develop a framework for the return to constitutional rule in Guinea”.

Named after a river that separates Liberia and Sierra Leone, the Mano River Union was formed in the 1970s to promote peace and trade with Liberia Guinea and Sierra Leone as its original members. Ivory Coast joined later.

The body has in recent decades, instead, concentrated more on conflict resolution because all of its members have been involved in different forms of armed conflicts.