Catholic bishops in Ghana have expressed deep concern over the recent eruption of inter-tribal conflict in the north of the country, between the ethnic groups of Kusasis and Mamprusis.
Reports from the affected area say that the inter-tribal conflict has forced a number of people to flee as refugees to the neighbouring country of Burkina Faso.
Other reports say that the tribal differences between the two ethnic groups have periodically flared up in the past, over questions of chieftaincy and land ownership.
“We call on the government and most especially state institutions mandated to deal with migrants and displaced people to step up their humanitarian response to the situation in and around Bawku to avert further suffering inflicted on the population of the area,” said a statement from the Ghanaian bishops' conference, signed by its president, the Bishop of Sunyani, Matthew Kwasi.
In their statement, the bishops urged the Government to use all resources at its disposal to battle out the issue.
They said they feared that the mass of displaced people could become a means of infiltration for terrorist groups operating in neighbouring countries.
”We urged the government to ensure that it used all resources within its disposal to ensure non-infiltration of terrorist groups into the country,” the statement said.
The bishops appealed to the factions involved in the Bawku conflict, as well as all other stakeholders, such as the traditional leaders, faith groups, the press, natives and non-indigenes, political party groups and the international community, to do everything possible to help the process of peace-building.
Ghana is the lates in a number of African countries which have seen a resignation of inter-ethnic conflict.
The afflicted countries include South Sudan, the world's youngest country, which Pope Francis visited last month with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to appeal for peace between the warring factions.
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