The Upper East Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu, has dismissed reports that refugees from neighbouring Burkina Faso have entered the region seeking asylum following the recent coup and security challenges in the country.
Mr Yakubu explained that the people who returned to Ghana were Ghanaian nationals working at a mining company in Burkina Faso that was attacked by violent extremists.
Get more exclusive breaking news updates on our WhatsApp channel .
According to him, some workers’ wives and children fled back to Ghana after the attack but they were not refugees seeking asylum.
“There is a mining community across the Pusiga border where some of our boys in Pusiga work with their families. The Burkinabes attacked this company and killed about three security personnel,” he said.
He added that about six wives and seven children of Ghanaian workers returned to Ghana and went back to their homes.
The Regional Minister assured residents that security measures had been strengthened along the borders to protect the country from possible terrorist threats.
He said additional military personnel and logistics had been deployed to support the 11th Mechanised Infantry Battalion in monitoring the borders and addressing security concerns, including the disturbances in Bawku.
Mr Yakubu also directed chief executives in border communities to identify possible locations for refugee settlements and report them to the United Nations for appropriate action if the need arises.
He assured residents that Ghana’s borders remained safe and well monitored.
The development follows an attack on Youga Mines, one of Burkina Faso’s major mining companies, in the Boulgou province, where at least three security personnel were killed by violent extremists.
Some Ghanaian workers and their families from communities including Kulungugu, Mognore and Sapeliga in the Pusiga District, as well as parts of Bawku Municipality and Bawku West District, returned to Ghana after the incident.
