Guinean fishermen have found at least 124 dead bodies believed to be those of rebels killed during a clash with government forces earlier this month, army sources said today.
The sources said the bodies had been found in the Makona river, which marks the border between Guinea and Sierra Leone. Combat fatigues and Russian-made automatic rifles were found on some of the bodies, they said.
The rebels were thought to have been killed during a clash with Guinean government troops at the town of Nongoa on March 9, when a Guinean helicopter gunship attacked rebel positions after rebels attacked Nongoa, where the army has a base.
Guinea accuses Liberia and Sierra Leonean rebels of aiding dissidents who have launched a series of attacks on its southern borders in recent months during which more than 1,000 people are reported to have been killed.