{"id":1844,"date":"2025-04-15T11:26:06","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T11:26:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/?p=1844"},"modified":"2025-04-15T11:26:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T11:26:07","slug":"where-are-these-weapons-coming-from-minority-demands-action-as-sophisticated-arms-flood-bawku","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/15\/where-are-these-weapons-coming-from-minority-demands-action-as-sophisticated-arms-flood-bawku\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Where are these weapons coming from?\u2019 \u2013 Minority demands action as sophisticated arms flood Bawku"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Ranking Member of Parliament\u2019s Defence and Interior Committee worried about the intensifying conflict in Bawku, describing it as a humanitarian and national security emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, speaking on Joy News\u2019 PM Express on Monday, cautioned that the growing use of sophisticated weapons in the conflict zone signals a dangerous escalation that could spiral beyond control if not addressed immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe death toll is rising. People are living in fear. Children can\u2019t go to school. Essential services are grinding to a halt\u2014teachers, doctors, and nurses are refusing postings to Bawku. It\u2019s a full-blown humanitarian crisis,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat the Minority is calling for is calm. First, we extend our condolences to the bereaved families, sympathies to the injured, and to those who have lost property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But more importantly, we say Bawku deserves peace, and for that to happen, all feuding factions must exercise absolute restraint.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Bawku conflict has long been rooted in ethnic tensions, Rev. Ntim Fordjour warned that its current trajectory is far more alarming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a new and very worrying dimension, some attacks are no longer just between the feuding factions. We\u2019re beginning to see a standoff between civilians and the security forces. That is dangerous,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf the conflict morphs into clashes between the security services and the very citizens they are deployed to protect, then we are heading into very dark territory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But perhaps the most troubling revelation from the Ranking Member was his description of the scale and sophistication of weaponry being used in the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou look at the kind of weapons that our people, our brothers and sisters, have access to in the conflict zone, and it is really troubling,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is so dangerous. It is part of the reason why there is even that confidence to engage the police or the military in direct confrontation. Wherever those weapons are coming from, the government must take urgent steps to stem the flow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rev. Fordjour called for an immediate and coordinated crackdown on the source of these weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is no longer about machetes or homemade rifles. We\u2019re talking about high-grade military-style arms being used in a domestic conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The presence of such weaponry emboldens the factions and makes peacekeeping incredibly difficult for security forces on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked what specific actions government should take that it hasn\u2019t already, the MP made a passionate appeal for political unity and a nonpartisan approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the first things government must do is to depoliticise this conflict. Every political actor must remove the undertones and underpinnings of politics from this. This is not the time for political point scoring,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He decried the recent trend of making political capital out of the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve heard the dangerous rhetoric, comments like \u2018when a certain party is in power, Bawku is peaceful; when another is in power, the conflict escalates.\u2019 This kind of narrative only serves to inflame tensions. We need to rise above it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rev. Fordjour threw his support behind the Otumfuo-led mediation process, calling it the right step to address the traditional root of the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he insisted that without immediate action to disarm factions and cut off access to weapons, no peace initiative would succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are supporting the government in this. This is a nationalistic effort. But the government must step up more. We cannot pretend that this is business as usual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The kind of arms being used in Bawku right now are not the kind you find in regular criminal activity. This is organised, this is dangerous, and it must be dealt with now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Myjoyonline.com<\/sub><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Dmedia News (Domajuosu Multimedia)<\/sub><\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Ranking Member of Parliament\u2019s Defence and Interior Committee worried about the intensifying conflict in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bawku-conflict.jpg",500,285,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bawku-conflict-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bawku-conflict-300x171.jpg",300,171,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bawku-conflict.jpg",500,285,false],"large":["https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bawku-conflict.jpg",500,285,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bawku-conflict.jpg",500,285,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bawku-conflict.jpg",500,285,false],"shareaholic-thumbnail":["https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bawku-conflict.jpg",500,285,false],"chromenews-featured":["https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bawku-conflict.jpg",500,285,false],"chromenews-large":["https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bawku-conflict.jpg",500,285,false],"chromenews-medium":["https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/bawku-conflict.jpg",500,285,false]},"author_info":{"info":["Babia Mubaric"]},"category_info":"General News<\/a> Politics<\/a>","tag_info":"Politics","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1844"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1846,"href":"https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1844\/revisions\/1846"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmediagh.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}