Ghanaian refugees who fled the ethnic conflict in Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo for shelter in neighbouring Togo have all returned home.
The Minister of the Interior, Mr Martin Amidu, stated this when he led a team from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on a tour of Kambatiak and Gbankoni, the two communities most affected by the exodus.
“Intelligence reports indicate that the people have returned home and are cohabiting peacefully,” he told the media during the tour.
He, however, disputed the figure of 6,000 quoted by earlier reports, arguing that the population of the two communities put together was not up to that figure.
Also in the interior minister’s entourage were the Northern Regional Minister, Mr Moses Magbenba, and the National Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Kofi Portuphy.
The visit to the two communities formed part of his maiden two-day tour of the region to acquaint himself with the security challenges of the area, as well as the flood situation at Buipe in the Central Gonja District.
“Sometime in May, this year, a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) report indicated that there were 3,500 Ghanaian refugees in Togo and later the figure was increased to 3,600 and at the Geneva conference, it was said that there were 6,000 Ghanaian refugees in Togo. Why this?” he asked.
The minister entreated residents of the two communities to bury their differences to forestall such unfortunate situations.
“Let us comport ourselves because the name of Ghana is being dragged in the mud,” Mr Amidu advised the communities.
Mr Magbenba appealed to the people to avoid staying for long periods in Togo in order not to tarnish Ghana's reputation as a peaceful country.
The chief of Kambatiak, Marison Konlabonk, said it was true that there was a conflict in the area and some residents fled to Togo but stressed that almost all of them had returned home.
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