Beware of refugees from Burkina Faso and Mali – The President of the Refugee Council told the government

General News of Friday, May 24, 2019

Source: 3news.com

2019-05-24

Dr. Kofi Anane, President of the Ghana Refugee Commission, warned the government of the upsurge in cross-border movements of Burkinabés in Ghana.

He said the problem has major implications for security.

In an interview with Natalie Fort of 3news.com, he said the Ghana Refugee Council is taking care of the more than 300 Burkinabes who fled the terrorist attacks in their country in the Upper West region of Ghana.

He cautioned, however, that there was a tendency to come forward as it was the second largest group of asylum seekers from Burkina Faso.

"Ghana needs to be wary of these cross-border movements from Burkina Faso and Mali, as it is the second largest group of asylum seekers here. Given the terrorist dimension, we must be wary because we may not be prepared for any eventuality. "

Hundreds of victims of terrorist attacks in neighboring Burkina Faso seek refuge in Ghana, according to officials of the East Sissala Municipal Assembly in the Upper West region.

This is due to the current trend of attacks by extremists that have affected neighboring countries, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Mali, among others. Dr. Anane felt that Ghana could be a target, hence the need to control asylum seekers to make sure they do not infiltrate.

"This may overburden our humanitarian capacity because we still have refugees who have been here for 20 years, with developmental implications. About a month ago, a number of Burkinabés were displaced as a result of conflict between leaders, and we are seeing a trend. "

At present, there are approximately 300 to 500 Burkinabés in Ghana as a result of recent cross-border displacement movements in Burkina Faso. Most of these people claim to be farmers and have expressed the wish to continue their agricultural activities in Ghana.

Dr. Kofi Anane noted that while the Refugee Commission, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other stakeholders are willing to let them continue to work in agriculture, security must first verify that they are actually farmers.

"These Burkinabe people are looking to settle, to settle, to set up their farms here, to plant their crops, and to pay landowners at the end of the season, because many of them claim to be farmers, security agencies are reviewing them to determine if this is factual, "he added." When problems of this nature occur, all security agencies are involved: national security, the National Investigation Bureau, the police, the chief executive officers of the municipalities, as well as the Ghana Immigration Service and NADMO Due to the origin and nature of the movements attributed to terrorism, these agencies are on the ground to verify whether the applicants As soon as this is done, GRB and UNHCR will be called upon to participate in the humanitarian aspect. "

The Ghana Refugee Commission anticipates that more such cross-border movements will occur from Burkina Faso and Mali to Ghana in the coming weeks.