TENSION EASES ON GHANA-TOGO BORDER

Calm returned to the Ghana-Togo border at Aflao late on Wednesday, after three days of tension and stampede by travellers.

On Monday, the Togolese frontier authorities without any prior notice, refused entry to travellers from Ghana who did not posses valid passports, saying that it was part of a new security measure they had adopted.

As part of the security measure, the Togolese allowed in only those who had passports, rejecting all other forms of identification.

They also re-inforced the barbed-wire fencing long the border, leaving only a very narrow entry point for travellers. Consequently, a large number of stranded and angry passengers from the Ghana side, including petty traders and other West African nationals, clashed with the Togolese border personnel as they attempted to force their way into Togo. Some of the travellers insisted that as citizens of ECOWAS member-state, they could cross international frontiers in the sub-region without necessarily carrying passports. The situation abated slightly on Tuesday but worsened the next morning as more and more travellers were turned away by the Togolese authorities, resulting in a more serious stampede at the border.

When the Volta Region Minister, Lt.-Col. Charles Kofi Agbenaza, and the Ketu District Chief Executive, Madam Jane Duwor, visited the border on Wednesday evening, the situation had abated. The Sector Commander of CEPS at the Aflao Border Post, Assistant Commissioner J.T. Ken Oklu, told them that the Ghanaian border authorities had met with their Togolese counterparts over the issue.

He said that following the amicable meeting, the tension was "defuse" and later in the day the Togolese authorities allowed entry of travellers who had identity cards. "Even some with voter ID cards were allowed to enter," he added. The Sector Commander said there was no violent incident at the border during the three days of stampede.

Meanwhile, the Regional and District Security Councils have advised travellers crossing into Togo through the Aflao border post to carry along valid travelling documents in accordance with the new measures adopted by the Togolese authorities.

Source: Ghanaian Times