Gov’t Exploiting Burkinabe Refugees To Be Engaged In Bloody Bawku Conflict

According to a letter from a police officer, ACP Alex Kwame Safo-Adu, intercepted by the media, Burkinabes are involved in the Bawku conflict

According to the letter, Ghanaian security officers saw some Burkinabe nationals from the Boulgou province retreating into Burkina Faso during an operation to arrest suspects involved in recent violence in Bawku.

“… There are no established links between the Burkinabe fighters and terrorist cells. Although the Burkinabe nationals involved in the Bawku conflict may be motivated by tribal ties and financial gains, the security situation in the area could serve as a conduit for jihadists and violent extremists to infiltrate and radicalise the local populace to advance their course,” the letter noted.

However, Whatsup News is picking up intelligence that some of these Burkinabes are actually political refugees who had fled to Ghana but are being used by Ghanaian authorities to whip up the conflict in Bawku.

Meanwhile, it is estimated that some of the arms used in the recent disturbances in the area were reportedly smuggled from Burkina Faso.

There has been fear that the Bawku conflict can be a magnet for terror groups operating within Burkina Faso.

Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery has expressed worry that criminal gangs may be involving themselves in the conflict t.

“The Bawku matter started as a chieftaincy one but right now criminals are trying to exploit the situation. Then of course, as you said there is a threat of extremism and we are trying to combine all this.”

He has however assured that the Police have a tight grip on the situation.