Minister of Defense Thursday said the issue of Yenga would be settled peaceful between his government and their Guinean counterpart.

Speaking to journalists at the ministry of defense conference room, Rtd. Major Palo Conteh said: "Yenga is absolutely under the control of Sierra Leone. We are not going to fight our Guinean counterpart over Yenga." He said as a responsible government they would not make any statement that would have negative impact on the issue of Yenga, adding that plans were well under way for the issue to be settled amicably.

"Historical document shows that Yenga belongs to Sierra Leone. I think as Sierra Leoneans we should be thinking of how to develop our country rather than talking about the Yenga issue," he said.

On the issue of downsizing the army, the defense minister said: "we want to have a small amount of soldiers that are well equipped and ready to perform their sacred duties." He said they were seriously struggling with the problems of officers in the republic of Sierra Leone armed forces because the resources were not sufficient.