By Solomon T. Gaye.
Heavy shootings along the Ivorian border have caused panic among residents of the border town of Gborplay in Nimba County.
The news of the shootings comes when the Legislature is debating a resolution for war and economic crimes court establishment in Liberia and Gblorplay is one of the land borders in the country and birth place of the defunct NPFL in 1990.
But the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) Communication Officer, Amos Kpanada, disclosed that the shootings were carried out on the Ivorian side of the border apparently by the soldiers.
“The shootings disrupted normal activities and left one person drowned in the Cestos River on the Ivory Coast side of the border,” Kpanada disclosed.
According to the Communication Officer, the incident occurred on the Ivorian weekend market day.
Kpanada further explained that nobody knows what led to the shootings, but assured that the joint security will investigate and inform the administration.
This the second shooting incident at Gblorplay in less than 12 months.
In 2023, during a census exercise, border patrol disrupted the exercise with heavy shootings of automatic weapons that led many of the residents to escape into the bushes seeking refuge.
When this paper contacted the office of LIS Commander, Yei Dolopaye, in Sanniquellie, he confirmed that the shootings were carried out by Ivorian soldiers on their side of the border.
“The Joint Security informed me, though not verified, that a cocoa truck was trying to cross into Liberia and was intercepted by the soldiers, which triggered the shooting,” Dolopaye disclosed.
