Beginning in September 2000, some of the most intense fighting took place around the city of Guéckédou in December, before the level of violence decreased in 2001.

With Liberian and RUF support and alleged weapons deliveries from Burkina Faso, Guinean officers who fled the country after the 1996 coup attempt formed the Rassemblement des Forces Démocratiques de Guinée (RFDG) in order to overthrow president Lansana Conté.

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.

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.

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.