The Ghana Refugee Board has indicated that the number of Ivorian refugees in Ghana has seen drastic reduction due to the stability in that country.
Political violence in Cote D’ivoire six years ago, forced thousands of its citizens to move to Ghana to seek refuge.
They were sheltered in camps in the Western and Brong Ahafo Regions during the crisis.
The 2010–11 Ivorian political crisis began after Laurent Gbagbo, the then President of the country since 2000, claimed he had won the election of 2010.
But the opposition candidate, Alassane Ouattara, and a number of countries, organisations and leaders worldwide claimed Ouattara won.
A significant step in bringing an end to the crisis occurred on 11 April 2011 upon the capture and arrest of Gbagbo in Abidjan by pro-Ouattara forces backed by French forces.
Speaking to Citi News, the Project Director of the Ghana Refugee Board Tetteh Padi said the number of Ivorian Refugees has reduced from 20,000 in 2009 to about 9,000 now.
He said, “We don’t have an influx from Cote d’Ivoire. As you know the situation in Cote d’Ivoire settling down so you have more of them returning.”
“We had 20,000 at the peak of the crisis and now it’s less than half of that,” he further noted.
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By Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana