Guinea (officially the Republic of Guinea; French: République de Guinée) is a former French colony that borders Guinea-Bissau and Senegal to the north, Mali on the north and north-east, Côte d'Ivoire to the east and Liberia and Sierra Leone to the south. Unrest in Sierra Leone has spilled across the border, creating humanitarian emergencies and threatening the stability of this country. The country is often sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea.