Residents of the Upper East Region have expressed fears of being attacked by terrorists following Al Qaeda-linked attacks on an international hotel in Burkina Faso’s Ouagadougou last Friday, killing some 28 people and injuring several others.
Even though businesses are going on smoothly along the Paga and Misiga borders in the region, residents have called on Ghana’s security agencies particularly at the two borders to stay alert.
They expressed about a possible terrorist attack if security services do not intensify patrols on the porous borders.
According to the residents , the accommodation of the former Guantanamo bay detainees in Ghana poses a even worsens their fears as it threatens the country’s security.
They want the security services to pay attention to the unapproved routes between Ghana and neighboring Burkina Faso.
“What happened in Burkina Faso, now that we have a link in the issue of the Guantanamo bay detainees brought to Ghana, what happened in Burkina can happen in Ghana.We will have fears because our borders around Upper East are porous and terrorists can sneak into Bolgatanga without the security knowing that terrorists are in Ghana and the security have to sit up.
“What trigged the attack in Burkina we dont know, if they took Burkina by surprise they can equally take Ghana by surprise and it is left to Ghana’s security to protect its citizens,” some residents stated.
But security agencies at the Paga border have allayed the fears of residents in the region, saying that security measures are being implemented to avert any eventuality.
Speaking to Citi News, Assistant Controller of Immigration in-charge of the Paga Immigration Sector Command, Francis Tachie, said there is tight collaboration among security agencies to safeguard all unapproved routes between Ghana and neighbouring Burkina Faso, however immigration officers are bound to face some challenges patrolling the borders since they were not allowed to use weapons.
“We know how porous our borders are, we have tried as much as possible to place our men on the ground especially where we have unapproved routes , we are manning the border and its unapproved routes 24/7, to ensure that we don’t see a situation where strangers will enter the country without our notice.We want to warn any one who may want to use unapproved routes into the country and encourage the use of the main border here.Some of the security issues we cannot discuss them openly because once you start to give your security details to the public you are exposing yourself to risk , people may drive on that information to capitalize on the loop-holes in the system.”
“Let me assure residents that everything is under control, we have intensified our surveillance and patrols along the borders, the military, the police, the immigration and other security agencies are all working together to ensure that our borders are saf,”ACOI Francis Tachie stated.
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By: Fred Awuni/citifmonline.com/Ghana