GHANA EMBASSY ATTACKED...........GOVT FORMS TASK FORCE

Ghana's High Commission was yesterday reportedly attacked by armed gangs in a continued mayhem that had engulfed Sierra Leone after the military coup in that country on Sunday. No one was hurt, but the embassy building was riddled with bullets . Mr. Kwamena Ahwoi , Minister of Foreign Affairs ,disclosed this to the castle Osu. The meeting held to assess the situation in Freetown, focused on the Presence of Ghanaians living in Sierra Leone and the presence of Ghanaian troops stationed at the Lungi Airport in Freetown. Mr. Ahwoi said reports received from the high commission in Freetown said the attackers motivews to hijack some of the vehicles there but they were not successful. Following the attack, Mr. Ahwoi said a national Task Force had been formed in Accra and put on the alert to monitor, on hourly basis, the situation in Sierra Leone. He said that Ghana was not taking chances in view of the large number of Ghanaians living in Sierra Leone and Ghanaian troops living there. The Minister said that in an event of the situation degenerating, Ghanaians nationals would be evacuated. He said Ghana had been in contact with some other countries , especially the USA, to ensure that swift action was taken if the situation grew worse. Mr. Ahwoi, who did not completely rule out intervention in an event of deterioration of the situation, said that it was premature to talk about it "Just as it happened in Liberia , we might do something to restore the territorial integrity of Sierra Leone," he said . Mr. Kofi Totobi Quakyi, Minister of State, explained that the Ghanaian troops numbering 30 men and four officers , were stationed at the airport as an air cover for the ECOMOG troops operating in neighboring Liberia. He said Ghana was studying the situation seriously in Sierra Leone, in collaboration with Nigeria and Guinea, in order to act swiftly if the situation deteriorated.

Ghana's High Commission was yesterday reportedly attacked by armed gangs in a continued mayhem that had engulfed Sierra Leone after the military coup in that country on Sunday. No one was hurt, but the embassy building was riddled with bullets . Mr. Kwamena Ahwoi , Minister of Foreign Affairs ,disclosed this to the castle Osu. The meeting held to assess the situation in Freetown, focused on the Presence of Ghanaians living in Sierra Leone and the presence of Ghanaian troops stationed at the Lungi Airport in Freetown. Mr. Ahwoi said reports received from the high commission in Freetown said the attackers motivews to hijack some of the vehicles there but they were not successful. Following the attack, Mr. Ahwoi said a national Task Force had been formed in Accra and put on the alert to monitor, on hourly basis, the situation in Sierra Leone. He said that Ghana was not taking chances in view of the large number of Ghanaians living in Sierra Leone and Ghanaian troops living there. The Minister said that in an event of the situation degenerating, Ghanaians nationals would be evacuated. He said Ghana had been in contact with some other countries , especially the USA, to ensure that swift action was taken if the situation grew worse. Mr. Ahwoi, who did not completely rule out intervention in an event of deterioration of the situation, said that it was premature to talk about it "Just as it happened in Liberia , we might do something to restore the territorial integrity of Sierra Leone," he said . Mr. Kofi Totobi Quakyi, Minister of State, explained that the Ghanaian troops numbering 30 men and four officers , were stationed at the airport as an air cover for the ECOMOG troops operating in neighboring Liberia. He said Ghana was studying the situation seriously in Sierra Leone, in collaboration with Nigeria and Guinea, in order to act swiftly if the situation deteriorated. Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, Deputy Minister of Education , expressed the government's unhappiness at events in that country, saying that "it is a setback to the peace efforts in the West African sub - region " At the meeting were Alhai Mahama Idrisu, Minister of Defence. the Chief of Defence Staff, Major - General Ben Akafia, Brigadier J.H Smith, the Army Commander , Commander E.O. Owusu-Ansah , Navy Commander, among others.