Yenga


Yenga is a village in Kissi Teng Chiefdom, Kailahun District in the Eastern province of Sierra Leone. The village is at the international border between Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Yenga is located on a hill above the south side of the confluence of the Mafissia River and the Makona River, where that river forms the border between the two countries. The area is inhabited by the Kissi people. In July 2012 Sierra Leone and Guinea declared the demilitarization of the Yenga area. The large majority of the inhabitants of Yenga are members of the Kissi ethnic group.

History

Prior to the late 1990s Yenga was a small fishing village. However, after occupation by the Revolutionary United Front, alluvial diamonds were discovered in the Makona River. Mining and agriculture have replaced fishing as the major economic activity.
In 2001, during Sierra Leone’s civil war, the Republic of Guinea sent troops into Yenga to help the army of Sierra Leone suppress the rebel RUF. After the rebels were quashed, the Guinean soldiers remained in Yenga. Prior to the civil war Yenga was administered by the Kailahun District of Sierra Leone. In 2002 Sierra Leone and Guinea signed an agreement than Yenga would be returned to Sierra Leone, as soon as Guinea's border could be secured. In 2005 Sierra Leone and Guinea signed an agreement that Yenga belonged to Sierra Leone. The two heads of state settled this dispute in 2013.