www.pulse.com.gh Open in urlscan Pro
18.66.192.14  Public Scan

Form analysis
2 forms found in the DOM

/search

<form action="/search">
  <input type="search" placeholder="I’m looking for..." name="q" required="" data-placeholder-source="I’m looking for..." data-required-message="Please type your query and press search">
  <button type="submit">O</button>
</form>

POST #

<form method="POST" class="newsletterForm inputForm" action="#">
  <input type="text" name="email" id="email15768993" placeholder="Your email" autocomplete="off" tabindex="-1" style="position:fixed; top:100vh;">
  <div class="txtContainer">
    <input type="email" placeholder="Email" name="email" class="inputEmail" required="">
    <button class="submitEmail submit"> SUBSCRIBE </button>
  </div>
</form>

Text Content

WE VALUE YOUR PRIVACY

We and our partners store and/or access information on a device, such as cookies
and process personal data, such as unique identifiers and standard information
sent by a device for personalised advertising and content, advertising and
content measurement, audience research and services development. With your
permission we and our partners may use precise geolocation data and
identification through device scanning. You may click to consent to our and our
1417 partners’ processing as described above. Alternatively you may click to
refuse to consent or access more detailed information and change your
preferences before consenting. Please note that some processing of your personal
data may not require your consent, but you have a right to object to such
processing. Your preferences will apply to this website only. You can change
your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by returning to this site
and clicking the "Privacy" button at the bottom of the webpage.
MORE OPTIONSDISAGREEAGREE
 * News
   * Politics
   * Local
   * Filla
   * World
 * Entertainment
   * Celebrities
   * Music
   * Movies
 * Lifestyle
   * Fashion
   * Beauty & Health
   * Relationships & Weddings
   * Food, Travel, Arts & Culture
 * Sports
 * Business
   * Domestic
   * International
 * Quizzes
 * Pulse Influencer Awards


 * News
   * Politics
   * Local
   * Filla
   * World
 * Entertainment
   * Celebrities
   * Music
   * Movies
 * Lifestyle
   * Fashion
   * Beauty & Health
   * Relationships & Weddings
   * Food, Travel, Arts & Culture
 * Sports
 * Business
   * Domestic
   * International
 * Quizzes
 * Pulse Influencer Awards

O

ADVERTISEMENT

RADP / Pulse Ghana  >  news  >  local


ISLAMIST MILITANTS USING GHANA’S NORTH AS LOGISTICAL BASE FOR INSURGENCY

Reuters
25 October 2024 09:37 AM



Islamist militants fighting in Burkina Faso are discreetly using Ghana’s north
as a logistical and medical rear base to sustain their insurgency, seven sources
told Reuters, a move that could help them expand their footprint in West Africa.

Islamist militants using Ghana’s north as logistical base for insurgency


The sources, who include Ghanaian security officials and regional diplomats,
said Ghanaian authorities appeared to be mostly turning a blind eye to the
insurgents crossing over from neighbouring Burkina Faso to stock up on food,
fuel and even explosives, as well as getting injured fighters treated in
hospital.

RECOMMENDED ARTICLES

 * local 7 dead and 4 injured in a fatal accident on Sunyani-Berekum road
 * local National Security Ministry responds to Reuters’ report on militant
   activity in Ghana
 * local Electoral Commission changes ballot printers for Oti and Western North
   regions

But they said that approach, while so far sparing Ghana from the kind of deadly
Islamist attacks that have plagued its neighbours, risks allowing militants to
put down roots in the country and recruit in some marginalised local
communities.

Ghana shares a 600 km (372 mile) border with Burkina Faso, the country at the
heart of an insurgency that has killed thousands, displaced millions and,
according to some experts, turned the Sahel region into the epicentre of global
terrorism as factions loyal to al Qaeda and Islamic State expand their presence.

Burkina Faso has lost control of over half its territory as a pro-al Qaeda group
known as JNIM gained ground. This week, a JNIM leader told French broadcaster
RFI that it was aiming to push into Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

ADVERTISEMENT


Unlike Benin and Togo, Ghana has not suffered a major attack.

Boniface Gambila Adagbila, Ghana’s ambassador to Burkina Faso, told Reuters the
militants were taking advantage of porous borders and saw Ghana as a “safe
haven”, but denied suggestions that the authorities had de-facto struck a
non-aggression pact with the jihadists. He said Ghana was working with Burkina
Faso to “flush them out”.

Ghana, which holds elections on Dec. 7, is seen as a strong democracy and has a
close relationship with Western nations, especially the UK and the U.S., which
regularly praise it for its role in promoting peace and security in the region.

“The absence of real attacks on Ghanaian soil seems to result from JNIM’s
calculus of not disturbing supply lines and places of rest as well as not
provoking a relatively strong army,” Clingendael, the Netherlands Institute of
International Relations, said in a report.


ADVERTISEMENT


The organisation said Ghana was tackling the threat in a number of ways,
including joint operations with neighbours.

“Yet, to avoid escalation it also appears to have accepted de facto
non-aggression with JNIM,” Clingendael said, citing high-ranking government
sources, who said that disrupting the supply networks risked provoking violence.

A senior Ghanaian security official told Reuters that militants do use Ghana as
a rear base for launching attacks elsewhere and also seeking medical treatment.

However, the official, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the
issue, said they were monitored and sometimes used as informants. There were
also cases of militants being handed over to Burkinabe authorities.

“We’ve arrested a lot of terrorists in the past and handed them over to
Burkina,” the official said, adding that Accra preferred to handle the cases
discretely.

ADVERTISEMENT


Ghana’s Information Ministry declined to comment.

When they first emerged in West Africa 20 years ago, Islamist militants, mainly
then from Algeria, operated in northern Mali and the government at the time
adopted an informal non-aggression pact: Bamako helped negotiate freedom for
Westerners kidnapped by the militants who, in return, did not carry out attacks
in Mali.

As violence spread following a jihadi offensive in Mali in 2012, officials in
Burkina Faso and Niger tried, at various times, similar arrangements. They all
collapsed as the insurgency gained strength or governments fell.

Anger at heavy losses in clashes with militants has triggered coups in all three
countries since 2020. Juntas that seized power expelled Western military support
and turned to Russia for help.

Western nations have since refocused resources on efforts to shore up the
northern regions of Benin, Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast, which border the Sahel.

ADVERTISEMENT


ACTIVE IN GHANA

Ghana is a centrepiece of that pivot to the coast.

When asked why the militants had so far refrained from attacking Ghanaian
targets, the Ghanaian official said: “You won’t destroy where you sleep, would
you?”

Clingendael said that of the 40 incidents recorded in Ghana since 2015 that were
suspected of being linked to violent extremist groups, only two involved actual
violence. The rest involved forces moving through territory, trying to recruit
fighters, picking up supplies or seeking refuge.

“Violent extremists are indeed active in Ghana,” it said.

ADVERTISEMENT


Arms experts have, in the recent years, traced explosive charges and detonator
cords used in bombs targeting U.N. and government troops in Mali back to mining
operations in Ghana, according to a U.N. report seen by Reuters.

Aaron Atimpe, an expert on extremist groups, said militants crossing into Ghana
were recruiting among local communities. “It is not just an area where they can
rest and get supplies. In the process people are being radicalised and
recruited.”

Source: Reuters

 * update me

Reuters



JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Get our Top Stories delivered to your inbox
SUBSCRIBE


Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on
news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we
love to be connected!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT


Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.com.gh


RECOMMENDED ARTICLES


PULSE GHANA LAUNCHES "GET INVOLVED" YOUTH CAMPAIGN FOR 2024 ELECTION COVERAGE




'THERE’S NO CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS IN GHANA' - BAGBIN ON VACANT SEATS CONTROVERSY




SMOKING BAN TO PROTECT CHILDREN COMES BEFORE UK PARLIAMENT




DOCTOR NARRATES HOW 10-YEAR-OLD RAPE VICTIM BLED 3 DAYS AFTER INCIDENT




DONALD TRUMP WINS THE 2024 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, RETURNING TO THE WHITE
HOUSE




2 GHANAIANS SENTENCED TO U.S. PRISON FOR ROMANCE FRAUD, ORDERED TO PAY $581K
EACH




ONLY 2 U.S. PRESIDENTS HAVE RETURNED TO WHITE HOUSE AFTER 1ST TERM EJECTION




108-YEAR-OLD WOMAN APPEALS TO BAWUMIA TO RECOVER HER GH¢12,000




GHANA RECORDS 34,000 NEW HIV INFECTIONS IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF 2024




TRENDING


EAST LEGON ACCIDENT: MAAME DWOMOH BOATEN LAID TO REST IN PRIVATE BURIAL


SALIFU AMOAKO BLASTS CHURCH MEMBERS FOR ATTACKING JOURNALIST: 'YOU'VE DISGRACED
ME'


ARMED MEN ATTACK AND BEAT JOURNALIST ERASTUS ASARE DONKOR AND TEAM AT MINING
SITE


NPP MPS LEAVE PARLIAMENTARY CHAMBER TO WAIT FOR SPEAKER'S DIRECTIVE


ELECTORAL COMMISSION EMBARKS ON PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGN TO COMBAT
MISINFORMATION


NUNGUA MANTSE BECOMES NEW PRESIDENT OF GREATER ACCRA HOUSE OF CHIEFS






Advertise with us
Reach out to us at sales@pulse.com.gh or +233209316392 to advertise with us.
Find out more about Pulse's products and advertising opportunities at
pulse.africa
 * Home
 * News
 * Business
 * Entertainment
 * Lifestyle
 * Sports
 * Quizzes

 * About us
 * About us
 * Advertise with us
 * Terms & Conditions
 * Privacy Policy
 * Pulse Influencer Awards

 * Social
 * Facebook
 * Twitter
 * Instagram
 * Youtube
 * Tiktok
 * Newsletter
 * WhatsApp
 * Google News