There has been no further bilateral agreement or national action to confirm the nationality of those affected. Other border disputes rumble on without referral to the ICJ and without resolution of the status of those living in the affected territory. For example, there is a border dispute between Guinea and Sierra Leone about Yenga town, in a zone close also to the Liberian frontier that is inhabited (on both sides of the river forming the boundary) by the Kissi people. Yenga was historically administered as part of Kailahun district of Sierra Leone. After it became a source of diamond production, Yenga was a base for the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) during the Sierra Leonean civil war, and in 1998 Guinea sent troops into the town to assist in evicting the RUF and defend itself against incursions from the rebel forces – but these soldiers then remained based in the town, as Guinea claimed the territory. This situation continued despite several agreements over the following years for their withdrawal, most recently in 2012, when Sierra Leone and Guinea – both now with elected governments – agreed to demilitarise the zone and Guinea recommitted to withdrawing its troops.236 However, tensions remain high, administrative infrastructure weak, and the identity documentation of those living in the district very limited. 4.7. Nomadic and pastoralist ethnic groups Nomadic or transhumant pastoralism is a way of life and means of livelihood for many millions of people in West Africa, largely belonging to one of several ethnic groups traditionally associated with pastoralism, especially the Tuareg (Berber/Amazigh) and Fulani (or Peul, in French), including Fulani sub-groups such as the Mbororo.237 Although some pastoralists are settled or semi-settled, or move only between two poles of migration in response to the seasons (transhumance), others have no fixed place of settlement and move freely across the region, in response to climate variations over the long term and other priorities. Attempts to “encourage” nomadic pastoralists to settle or submit to centralised political organisation have created tensions in both colonial and post-colonial eras.238 Many, perhaps most, of these pastoralists do not have identity documents: they can cross borders without any papers, while state institutions may barely exist in the remote rural regions. In any event, even with the correct papers or they may be subject to extortion at border points. Tuareg demands for self-determination date back to the 1950s when Tuareg leaders wrote to French President Charles de Gaulle in 1957, in the lead up to the independence of African countries, stating that they did not want to be included either in Arab North Africa or in sub-Saharan black Africa but have their own Sahelian state. Tuaregs have since then been actors both in their own continuing demands for autonomy in their desert zone, and in broader geopolitics of the region. It was well known 236 “GUINEA-SIERRA LEONE: Guinea hands back disputed border village”, IRIN, 7 September 2004; Sheikh Bawoh, “The Yenga Dispute Hinders Border Economic Prospects”, Borderlines (magazine published as part of the Regional Youth Initiative of the World Bank Civil Society Fund) Edition 1, January 2008; Lansana Gberie, “The Guinea–Sierra Leone border dispute: Time for ECOWAS to intervene”, Pambazuka No.446, 3 September 2009; Lt Col. (Rtd) Sim Turay, ”Yenga Border Dispute Sierra Leone/Guinea”, Awoko, Freetown, 29 September 2009; “Guinea, Sierra Leone demilitarize Yenga”, Press Release, Sierra Leone Presidency, 27 July 2012. 237 Fulani (or Fula) is the word usually used in the anglophone countries, Peul in the francophone, for members of (subgroups of) the widely dispersed West African ethnic group speaking variations of the Pulaar or Fulfulde languages. The variations in terminology are complex and not consistently used. 238 Charles Frantz, “West African Pastoralism: Transformation and Resilience”, in Carl Salzman and J. G. Galaty (eds). Nomads in a Changing World. Naples, Instituto Universitario Orientale, 1990. 71