Former Head of the West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) Emmanuel Bonbande has lamented following the sad story emanating from Bawku in the Upper East Region.
Mr. Bonbande on his Facebook wall on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, said: These stories coming out of Bawku where our Armed Forces is contributing to atrocities by shooting and killing civilians is utterly disturbing.
He added: “Our Military is trained to uphold international standards of Peacekeeping with Human Rights approaches at the core”.
“They understand very well that in any Peacekeeping mandate, the primacy of their interventions, integral in their mandates, is the protection of Civilian lives. They cannot adhere to these Peacekeeping principles elsewhere in other countries and do the opposite at home in Ghana”.
“The Military high command may want to consider personal of the Ghana Armed Forces, likewise the IGP for the Police to deploy to Bawku, only serving personal with the requisite training. Again, it must be emphasized that for those exploiting ethnic cleavages in the inter-communal violence in Bawku, Peacekeeping must understand at first hand, the nature and dynamics of the violence. When Peacekeeping does not protect all the people but instead contributes to the Military killing civilians, it could create the grounds for radicalization and violent extremism”.
This is further exacerbated by Bawku sharing borders with two countries where terrorism is active and continues to come too close to the shores of Ghana. Mr. Bonbande concluded.
However, it was earlier reported on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, that two teenagers were shot dead, some house burnt down in Bawku a day after a gun battle between the military and some civilians in the area.
Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen
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