Freetown — A release from the Office of the President Tuesday stated that President Kabbah Monday returned from a meeting aimed at resolving the long-standing issue of Yenga between Guinea and Sierra Leone.

The statement stated that he was accompanied by the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and the Guinean Prime Minister Lansana Kouyateh.

"It was the first visit to be made by the Guinean Prime Minister and the Liberian President to the area, and it provided an opportunity for both to make an on the spot assessment of the actual situation and get a first hand knowledge of the situation on the ground.

The two Heads of State and the Prime Minister crossed the Moa/Makona River from Nongoa in Guinea to Yenga in Sierra Leone by canoe," the release stated.

"It came at the end of a one-day Summit of the Makona River Union held in Geckedou, Guinea. An expert on Yenga Madame Uzeba Kanu led the Prime Minister and the Liberian Leader on an inspection tour of the area and briefed them on the actual location of the Yenga boundary prior its occupation of the Guinean troops during the war, and which was outlined in the 1912 protocol. (Which states that the Makona River and its Islands belong to Guinea, while the Village of Yenga and the adjacent land belong to Sierra Leone)," the statement disclosed.

Prime Kouyateh recalled that the issue of Yenga was discussed at the recently held Summit of Head of State of the MRU held in Conakry, adding that he has seen the situation and he would report back to President Lansana Conteh.

"The President Alhaji Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah was confident that with the visit of Prime Minister Kouyateh and President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the issue of Yenga was seen in a clearer perspective and hoped the matter would soon be laid to rest and soon be a thing of the past," the release stated.