Vessels from the two countries exchanged gunfire after Guinean naval
forces illegally boarded a Chinese fishing vessel in Sierra Leonean
waters, said Al Shek Kamara, Head of Operations for the Sierra Leone
Police.
Guinean sailors arrested after clash with Sierra Leone navy(Naval Today)
Sierra Leone was holding 11 Guineans including military personnel in custody on Wednesday following a confrontation at sea involving the two West African neighbours' navies, Sierra Leonean officials said.
The
incident occurred early on Monday morning off the coast of northern
Sierra Leone near the countries' border, the officials said.
Vessels
from the two countries exchanged gunfire after Guinean naval forces
illegally boarded a Chinese fishing vessel in Sierra Leonean waters,
said Al Shek Kamara, Head of Operations for the Sierra Leone Police.
He said the Guineans had been holding the vessel's crew at gunpoint demanding money.
Guinea rejected that version of events.
"There
was a Chinese boat that was being pursued by the Guinean navy and
entered into Sierra Leone's territory. During the manoeuvre, the Guinean
navy entered into Sierra Leone's territory," said government spokesman Damantang Albert Camara.
He said the Guinean personnel had disembarked to carry out administrative formalities and would return home soon.
"There was no gunfire or arrests," Camara said.
West
Africa, home to some of the world's richest fishing waters, loses up to
$1.5 billion worth of fish each year to vessels fishing in protected
zones or without proper equipment or licenses.
Under-equipped West African maritime forces are struggling to clamp down on illegal foreign vessels, many of them Chinese.
One
fifth of China's distant water fishing fleet now operates in Africa,
Greenpeace said in a report published last year. Beijing rejected the
accusation.
إرسال تعليق