The Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee and MP for Wa West, Peter Lanchene Toobu, has expressed his support for Ghana’s security agencies in their fight against insurgencies and their commitment to national security.
This statement follows reports that Islamist militants from Burkina Faso are reportedly utilizing parts of northern Ghana for logistical and medical purposes amidst their ongoing insurgency.
Mr Toobu called on Ghanaians to have confidence in the nation’s security forces and to acknowledge the significant yet often invisible efforts being made to keep the country secure.
“The Accra initiative is an initiative with Burkina Faso, Niger and other countries in the Sahel region, who are involved and we share so much information for the sole stability of this region. In the parlance of security, it’s not every information that we see on the surface like that.
“Whatever it is, if you wake up in the morning and there’s still peace, you should know that somebody behind the scenes has worked so hard for you to have that peace. Probably you don’t know what they do, you may be thinking from the superficial things that you see, the off-scenes you see. What we are saying is that there are a lot of things happening.
“There’s a lot of things that have been done to ensure our country remains secure and safe. Let me assure you that the security agencies, we have professional police and Armed Forces and I think that all the security agencies in the country are not sleeping.
“The collaboration with Burkina Faso is so solid and I believe that in the area of peace, we should be rest assured that they will not let the people of Ghana down,” Toobu said.
Reporters without Borders, a media organization, has issued a report cautioning that the Sahel region is perilous for journalists and that there is a high chance of abduction.
“The deterioration of the state of the media in Chad, Burkina Faso and Mali has been exacerbated by military coups,” the report adds, saying that this is creating an environment of “controlled media”.
In addition, it mentions a “hostile atmosphere” for journalists brought on by regulations that restrict press freedom.
The report underlines the frequent attacks by extremists and continues by stating that “threats, the risk of kidnapping, even assassination, have become part of the daily life of journalists in the region.”
French journalist Olivier Dubois, who had been held captive in Mali for nearly two years by a group associated with al-Qaeda, was just recently freed in a high-profile case.
The government has refuted reports that special forces from the United Kingdom are being brought to Ghana to help fight terrorism.
A report by British newspaper, the Telegraph, yesterday reported that Britain is in discussion with Ghana to send special forces into the country after it was forced to withdraw all of its peacekeepers from Mali.
“The Government of Ghana wishes to state that the information regarding British special forces is false. Neither Ghana nor any other member of the Accra Initiative has discussed with any partner, any such request nor contemplated the involvement of foreign forces in any of the activities”, a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional integration stressed.
The Ministry said the Government of Ghana has had no interaction with the United Kingdom for the deployment of soldiers into the country.
“The Government of Ghana has no interactions with the UK Government aimed at deploying UK soldiers to Ghana for purposes of operations as described in the story”, parts of the statement read.
It further explained that, the Accra Initiative rather aims to prevent spillover terrorism from the Sahel and to address transnational organized crime within the common border areas of member states.
As attacks by armed groups rise, new data shows that open dialogue — and dance — work in fighting hate.
Born from distorted interpretations of culture as well as from hatred and ignorance, violence by armed groups threatens the very foundations of our societies, tearing us apart and weakening collaboration between communities. Worryingly, the Global Peace Index 2022 reported a 17 percent increase in such attacks in 2021.
The Sahel region has been particularly affected. Fragile governance and instability, only furthered by recent coups in the region, have left spaces for armed groups and non-state actors to thrive. A complex network of such outfits operates in the Sahel – groups with official links to al-Qaeda or the ISIL (ISIS) armed group, others focused on local issues and still others emerging as responses to specific situations and events.
Citizens in the Sahel live with a very real and constant fear of armed attacks. According to the 2021 Afrobarometer (pdf), one in 10 citizens in Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and Mali has personally experienced them. The region accounted for 35 percent of global “terrorism” deaths in 2021 with half of the 10 deadliest attacks last year occurring in Burkina Faso and Niger.
This violence compounds the region’s other challenges, with 1.6 million people experiencing a food security crisis and 1.9 million people internally displaced, according to the United Nations.
Fortunately, we know that there is a tool that can help combat hatred and ignorance and heal some of the wounds that, if left bleeding, can fracture societies. In addition to improving living conditions, we need to talk.
Intercultural Dialogue – when there is a commitment to engaging in meaningful and open communication – creates connections and breaks down barriers. It has been used around the world, particularly in the Sahel, in conflict zones. Now, for the first time, data has been established that this approach works. A new report based on UNESCO’s data – We Need To Talk’ – underscores just how effective dialogue can be.
Between 2015 and 2019, 69 percent of attacks by armed groups and 89 percent of deaths from such incidents globally occurred in countries where dialogue was stalling. Countries with higher levels of dialogue see greater peace and stronger protection of human rights.
Dance as dialogue
So what does intercultural dialogue really look like? There is perhaps no better example than Chadian choreographer Taïgué Ahmed’s initiative, Refugees on the Move (ROM). Launched by Ahmed and his association Ndam Se Na, which means “let’s dance together”, ROM uses dance as a tool for social and cultural mediation in refugee camps.
The idea is to help refugees deal with trauma, reduce violence in camps where different communities from possibly opposing sides reside and create links between them as well as with local populations. Today, ROM is supported by the African Artists for Development Fund and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. ROM runs programmes in refugee camps across Africa, including in Burkina Faso and Chad in the Sahel.
In a recent interview on UNESCO’s Artlab podcast, Ahmed highlighted the transformative power of intercultural dialogue. “Refugees, when they dance, we see them as artists, which is already positive,” he said. “We see this exchange between them and the population … which creates a link of trust, decreasing conflicts and helping integration”.
The latest news from around the world.Timely. Accurate. Fair.
UNESCO’s Initiative for Enabling Intercultural Dialogue, launched in partnership with the Institute for Economics and Peace, is a testament to the agency’s belief in the power of intercultural dialogue. The new framework offers communities a guide on how to maximise change. If we take advantage of this important data, we will see improvements in our world.
When we stop talking, solutions to tensions and conflict become impossible. When we stop talking, hatred and ignorance thrive. Intercultural dialogue offers an alternative. As the new framework shows, it is effective, and ought to be expanded in the Sahel and beyond.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
A total of 159 terrorists and extremists attacks occurred in the Sahel and West Africa Sub-region, the Minister of National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah, has revealed.
He said the attacks resulted in 538 fata lities and 127 injuries, and displacing many of the victims of the attacks that occurred this year, between July 1 and August 28.
Mr Kan-Dapaah disclosed this when he opened a two-day workshop titled “The Role of Civil Society Organisations in Ghana’s Border Security Management”.
It was organised by the Ghana Integrity Initiative, a local chapter of Transparency International, in collaboration with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) to partner CSOs under the Strengthening Border Security in Ghana Project (SBS Ghana).
The SBS Ghana is funded by the European Union Trust Fund For Africa and implemented by the Ghana Immigration Service and ICMPD.
The project seeks to, among others, work closely with CSOs, universities, research and think tanks to submit research and action projects highlighting innovative approaches and best practices on mobility and border management.
Opening the workshop, Mr Kan-Dapaah expressed concern about the growing threat of terrorism and extremism in the Sahel and West African Region.
He said the Sahel and the West African Region was going through difficult times.
Mr Kan-Dapaah observed that countries such Togo and Benin, which one thought would not be attacked, were currently being attacked.
The National Security Minister indicated that insurgent had taken control of six of the thirteen regions of Burkina Faso.
He said Burkina Faso was located in a strategic position of the Sub-region.
Mr Kan-Dapaah said Ghana was not immune to attacks by terrorists and extremists and called on all stakeholders to forestall any attack on the country.
“The security agencies and stakeholders are not sleeping and are working closely to respond to the growing threat of terrorism and extremism in the Sub-region,” he said.
Mr Kan-Dapaah called for closer collaboration between security and state agencies and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on effective border management to promote security and peace in the Sub-region.
He said CSOs had data, skills and knowledge which could be tapped as part of efforts to ensure border security and peace in the Sub-region.
“This is the time when active collaboration with CSOs is critical if we want to secure the security of the country,” he said.
He appealed to the media to be circumspect in reporting on security issues to sustain the peace and security of the country.
The Head of the European Union Delegation in Ghana, IrchardRazaaly, in his remarks, said the security of the Sahel and West African Sub-region was coming under threat through activities of extremists and terrorists.
He said promoting security in the border regions could not be the responsibility of government alone.
Mr Razaaly said the SBS Ghana could help curb the threat of violent extremism in the Sub-region.
“This project will help give a new vision of what borders should look like,” Mr Razaaly said.
The Executive Director of GII, Mrs Linda Ofori-Kwafo, said the emergence of terrorism and extremism was posing a threat to the Sub-region.
She said the porous land borders made border communities vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
Mrs Ofori-Kwafo said the SSB Ghana was seeking the support and collaboration in ensuring effective border security, and the two-day programme gave the beneficiary CSOs the opportunity to receive a grant of 700,000 euros to showcase their projects.
She called for the active involvement of CSOs in border security issues.
Up to 18 million people in Africa’s drought-stricken Sahel region will face severe food insecurity over the next three months, the United Nations warned Friday.
A spokesman for the World Food Programme (WFP), Tomson Phiri, told a regular press briefing in Geneva that the organization was facing a “severe shortage of funds” to help these people.
“The needs are very high, but resources are low,” he said, which has forced the agency to reduce the food aid rations it distributes in some countries in the region.
In Chad, for example, low funding levels have forced WFP to reduce emergency rations for IDPs and refugees by 50 percent since June 2021. If donors do not provide more funds, WFP will also have to stop providing cash assistance in early July in some parts of the country.
According to projections by the UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), up to 18 million people in the Sahel region will face severe food insecurity over the next three months, “the highest number since 2014.
This situation is the result of a combination of factors, according to the UN, which cites conflict, the Covid pandemic, drought and rising food prices.
“In the Sahel, 7.7 million children under the age of five are expected to suffer from malnutrition. 1.8 million of them are severely malnourished and if aid operations are not intensified, this number could reach 2.4 million by the end of the year,” said an Ocha spokesman, Jens Laerke.
“The situation has reached alarming levels in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Niger, where people will experience emergency levels of food insecurity during the lean season between June and August,” he added.
The “lean season” is the period when the previous year’s crops are consumed while the current year’s crops are not yet harvested.
The United Nations has released $30 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund to help the affected communities.