Ghana sends reinforcements to north border after shooting

Ghana has sent 1,000 troops and police to the northern area of Bawku to reinforce security after gunmen killed an immigration officer and wounded two others near the border with Burkina Faso last week, government officials said.

Bawku, in Ghana's Upper East region, faces a simmering ethnic chieftaincy dispute that often flares into violence, as well as a growing risk of spillover from a jihadist conflict over the border.

The Ghana Immigration Service did not give a motive for the attack last week, but said the three officers were off-duty when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle outside Bawku police station.

Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, a government spokesperson on governance and security, told the AFP late Tuesday additional special forces were sent to Bawku as a precautionary measure to protect borders as terror threats intensify. 

"We have recently sent 1,000 troops to Bawku and we keep monitoring the situation in the town to change strategies as and when," he said.

"The government is ensuring that in the midst of the threats of chieftaincy and riots in Bawku we don’t have the insurgence of extremists." 

He did not give details about investigation into the motive for last week's shooting or say whether it was linked to jihadists.

With Islamist militants controlling large parts of Burkina Faso over the border, the United States and other Western partners are looking to help Ghana and coastal West African neighbors Togo, Benin and Ivory Coast strengthen their defenses.

Ghana has so far been spared any direct violence blamed on jihadists, but Togo, Benin and Ivory Coast have all suffered jihadist attacks near their borders.

Burkinabe refugees have also fled across the frontier into Ghana.

Boakye-Danquah said intelligence indicated there was no foreign interference in the Bawku chieftaincy dispute.

Security experts say jihadists may try to take advantage of any unrest there to gain a foothold in the area.

Bawku has seen deadly clashes erupt again between ethnic Kusasi and Mamprusi over the right to choose a chieftain for the area, which already has a heavy police and military presence. 

Boakye-Danquah said increased troop presence will help with intelligence gathering while other troops will be involved in social interventions such as healthcare and infrastructure work.

Ghana is also pushing the so-called Accra Initiative to bolster security cooperation and intelligence sharing among Gulf of Guinea neighbors and Sahel countries. 

A French troop withdrawal from Mali in the face of mounting hostility and disputes with the ruling junta has refocused Western partners to aid Gulf of Guinea nations battle the war's southward spillover.

 

AFP