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More than 700 Fulani herdsmen, including their families, have relocated from Bouna, a community in Cote d’Ivoire, to Bole in the Northern Region to seek shelter as refugees, following a conflict between them and the indigenes of the town, the Brifos.
Earlier last Friday, 268 of the herdsmen arrived in Bole. They, however, did not come along with their cattle.
The remaining 470 Fulani herdsmen are yet to go to Bole, although they have crossed over to Ghana through unapproved routes at Msunia, Tahirukora and Tampurikora in the Bole District.
As of the time of going to press yesterday, the Bole District Security Council (DISEC) was holding an emergency meeting on how to handle the herdsmen.
One of the herdsmen, Musah Hassan, 29, who was indisposed, died shortly after arrival at the Bole Government Hospital.
Cause
The herdsmen and their families fled to Ghana after they were chased out by the indigenes of Bouna.
The Brifos are said to be angered by the continued destruction of their farms by the herdsmen’s animals.
Confirmation
The Bole District Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mr Eric Awiadem, confirmed the development to the Daily Graphic in an interview.
He explained that last Friday, March 25, the DISEC heard that there was a conflict between the Fulani herdsmen and the Brifo people.
He said based on that information, the DISEC anticipated that there might be a spillover of the conflict to Ghana, since it was close to Bole.
Assistance
Mr Awiadem added that the military was called in to take Reece at the border in order to forestall any eventuality, noting that the military assisted the police to bring the herdsmen from Bouna to Bole.
He explained that the herdsmen who were fleeing to Ghana could have been attacked by other Brifos living along the border had it not been for the presence of the military.
NADMO
The Bole District Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Richard Abdulai Kaara, said the DISEC was working on how to bring the Fulanis to the district from the border so that it could monitor their activities well.
"The DISEC is meeting to find ways of handling them because the number is overwhelming," he stated.
He said it was likely that more herdsmen might enter the country through various unapproved routes.
"It is not only Bole that they can enter; some can enter Sawla, which is close to Bole, or even the Brong Ahafo Region because as soon as they cross the White Volta, they are in Ghana," Mr Kaara explained.
- Source: graphic.com.gh
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