A report issued by the Libyan government said Ghanaian migrants feature prominently as members of the terrorist group.

[contextly_sidebar id=”K2uEXmeMLmXzS4dDeqM7pmjiq3rkSO5A”]The report placed Ghana in the second highest category suggesting that between 50 to 100 Ghanaian migrants are frontline fighters for the so-called Islamic State in Libya.

Following the report, the Minority in Parliament charged government not to allow the Ghanaian IS fighters into the country until they are properly investigated and given security clearance.

“Government must put measures in place to ensure that none of these alleged Ghanaian Islamic State fighters are allowed to return to Ghana without strict security clearance and surveillance,” the Minority spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said at a press conference on Tuesday.

The Minority also called on government to ensure that Ghana’s international reputation is not affected over Libyan report.

But Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, Frank Annor Dompreh, at a counter press conference said government will certainly break its silence on the matter after the investigation.

“This is not a matter that is new, the government is fully aware of this. We have done enough checks at the Ministry [of Foreign Affairs], and the Ministry is already aware. What is important is that, the ministry is conducting investigations on this matter… We think that soonest, the Republic and for that matter the government, will come up with the full disclosure and findings of what indeed is the truth or otherwise,” he said.

Mr. Dompreh also challenged the report,  saying for now, the identity of the supposed Ghanaians believed to have joined the terrorist group, has not been confirmed.

“In the report, it is being alleged that some Ghanaians have been mentioned – the authenticity of these Ghanaians have not been proven at this stage,” he added.

KNUST student joins ISIS

This comes on the back of reports that a graduate from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Nazir Nortei Alema had joined the terrorist group in 2015.

Harry Sarfo, a German Ghanian, had also in the early part of 2017, confessed to having been a fighter for ISIS.

The 28-year-old, who is serving a three-year prison term in Germany on terrorism charges, said he had however avoided participating in the group’s violence.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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The head of the mission, known as Minusma, called the killings in the town of Kidal a “barbaric crime”.

On Saturday, at least 17 people died in clashes between the army and Tuareg rebels in Kidal. The fighting broke out during a visit by PM Moussa Mara.

In 2012 a Tuareg rebellion in northern Mali triggered a military coup.

Civilian rule was re-established in 2013, but Islamist and separatist forces remain active in some areas.

During Saturday’s fighting the rebels captured the local governor’s office, seizing 28 people.

It is unclear whether they are among the dead announced by the head of Minusma, Albert Koenders, late on Sunday.

“An inquiry must be carried out quickly in order to verify the facts and bring the responsible parties to justice,” he said.

Earlier, Mr Mara said his government was now “at war” with the separatists. The total death toll from Saturday’s fighting is unclear: earlier estimates put the number of dead at 36.

Malian Defence Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga has said reinforcements were being sent to Kidal.

“We will double our troops on the ground if necessary,” AFP news agency quoted him as saying.

The rebels are from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA).

The United Nations is attempting to negotiate a truce between the Malian army and Tuareg rebels.

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