RFDG Insurgency

The first attack was on September 2, 2000, at Massadou, on the border with Liberia. At least 40 people, including civilians, were killed. On September 4, Madina Woula, on the border with Sierra Leone, was attacked, causing the deaths of at least 40 people.^[5] On September 6, the RUF was allegedly involved in the temporary capture of Pamelap, the closest attack at the time to the capital, Conakry.^[6]

In response to the attacks, on September 9, president Lansana Conté gave a speech in which he said that there were rebels among the refugees and that the refugees should go home.^[7] In addition to the Guinean Army, LURD forces were mobilized to defend Macenta and Guéckédou. Young Guineans from the border areas were recruited into local militias called Young Volunteers.^[7]

On September 17, Macenta was attacked, and the head of the UNHCR office in the town was killed, along with other civilians. Macenta and Forécariah were attacked multiple times in September. In October and November the fighting was primarily in the Languette region, an area near Guéckédou that borders both Sierra Leone and Liberia.^[8]

At the start of the insurgency it was mostly unknown who was causing the attacks, but in mid-October the RFDG claimed responsibility. While there were also reports of rebels called the Union des Forces pour une Guinée Nouvelle (UFGN) and Union de Forces Démocratique de Guinée (UFDG), these were mostly like part of the RFDG.^[4]

On November 30, the rebels took control of towns near the city of Kissidougou which they managed to hold for about a week. Fighting also took place in the refugee camps around Kissidougou.^[5] On December 6, RUF fighters attacked Guéckédou from the south and east while RFDG and Liberian troops attacked from the west. The fighting in the town lasted for weeks and displaced 100,000 people. On March 9, 2001, rebels attacked the Nongoa area in the last significant attack in the insurgency,^[5][2] although isolated fighting was reported until 2002.^[1]

The fighting greatly affected Guinea's large refugee population. Refugees were harassed, attacked, forcibly recruited, and displaced by the fighting. In addition, after the killing of the head of the UNHCR office in Macenta, UNHCR activities outside Conakry were suspended for months, leaving refugees without assistance.^[2] The fighting also displaced many Guineans. However, the insurgency did not manage to turn into a civil war that would have caused much more damage. In February 2002, a meeting between the presidents of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone in Rabat lead to a commitment to security along the countries' borders and to repatriate refugees.^[1]