Senegal, Bissau deny border dispute

BISSAU (Reuters) - Senegal and Guinea-Bissau denied on Friday the two West African neighbours were engaged in a border dispute after a military build-up there this week prompted dozens of Bissau-Guinean civilians to flee.

The two nations have a history of low-level tensions around their border, linked to disputes over ownership of potential oil reserves and Senegal's accusations that previous Bissau governments harboured southern Senegalese separatist rebels.

Bissau-Guinean sources said this week the ex-Portuguese colony had sent several battalions of soldiers to its border.

"The movement of Bissau-Guinean troops on the border are perfectly normal in security terms," said Senegalese Defence Minister Abdoulaye Balde after talks with his Bissau-Guinean counterpart.

"We have never had a problem recognising our border with Guinea-Bissau," he added.

Bissau-Guinean Defence Minister Artur Silva said both states agreed that the border -- set by past colonial powers and which cuts across traditional ethnic groups -- was "untouchable".

Balde said the two countries had agreed to revive a joint commission that had been created to pre-empt any border tensions but which has not met for 16 years.