About 700 refugees fleeing attacks in Burkina Faso arrive in Ghana

The Ghana Refugee Board has confirmed the arrival of over 700 Burkinabe nationals who have fled terrorist attacks in neighbouring Burkina Faso.

The refugees, most of them women and children, are said to have fled from several communities near Bittou province in the Boulgou department, where Islamist militant fighters have stepped up attacks targeting local militias.

Civilians have also come under attack following accusations by the Islamic militant fighters of collaborating with Burkina’s security and defence forces.

The foreigners are seeking refuge in communities including Bansi, Mognori, Sapeliga, Kutanga and Yarigungu in the Binduri, Bawku municipal and Bawku West district.

The majority of refugees are said to be from the Benliyali community in Burkina Faso where a suspected jihadist attack took place leading to the death of two residents including a local Imam.

Tetteh Paddy, the executive secretary of the Ghana Refugee Board who confirmed the arrival of the Burkinabe nationals said some of the refugees are also being housed in Getiga, a border community in the Binduri district of the Upper East Region.

He said the Refugee Board was in close contact with both the local and regional authorities to monitor the situation.

Meanwhile, the district chief executive for Binduri, Ayinga Yakubu Abagre has said adequate arrangements have been put in place to temporarily accommodate the Burkinabe nationals.

The DCE said the assembly has been able to organise relief items to support the overwhelming number of the Burkinabe nationals who have flooded different parts of the district in a getaway from the Islamic militant fighters.

Addressing the media during a visit to six camps in the district where the Burkinabe nationals are being kept, the DCE said the assembly was working closely with the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), the Ghana Health Service and other local authorities to ensure the refugees are well catered for.

While he admonished the refugees against behaviours that would hamper their temporary stay, the DCE called for donor support for the distressed refugees.

Senyalah Castro