The Ghana Police Service (GPS) has issued a warning o Ghanaians not to touch strange objects they might stumble on in town because they could be booby-trapped explosives amidst growing threats of political violence and possible terrorist attacks in the country.
This warning follows an explosion of an object picked up four youngsters on August 5, 2020 in Accra. The four children were reportedly rushed to the hospital and have been treated for their injuries.
“The Accra Regional Police Command is advising the general public especially, parents, community leaders, local folks among others to be wary of strange objects they chance upon and immediately draw the attention of the police for the appropriate response,” reads a statement released on August 10, 2020, by the GPS Public Affairs department.
“This has become necessary following an explosion which caused injuries to four children who were playing along the La Beach on 5/08/2020. All four children have so far been treated and discharged,” explained the police.
The incident has re-echoed recent warnings issued by several diplomatic missions in Ghana to their citizens about possible terrorist attacks in Ghana.
A few months ago, the UK High Commission in Ghana issued a travel alert that stated that terrorists are likely to try to carry out indiscriminate attacks in Ghana.
The notorious al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Islamic State of Libya and Islamic State West Africa (ISWA) have all been fingered as potential candidates.
“These groups have demonstrated capability and intent by mounting attacks against security forces and civilians in several countries, most recently in Burkina Faso and Mali. While there have been no recent attacks in Ghana, you should remain vigilant, particularly in northern border areas and in busy public locations (including beach resorts, hotels, cafes, restaurants and places of worship) across the country,” the UK government warned.
Several others such as Canada and the USA have done same.
About a month ago former President Jerry John Rawlings reiterated the threats, saying intelligence points to possible attacks.
Ghana is heading for one of its highest-staked general elections and already, the two political parties: the NDC and NPP have been cited in several violent antics.
Experts think terrorist groups could take advantage of the rancour to spark large scale violence run-up to the elections.