Soldiers in Ghana have been deployed to its northern border with neighbouring Burkina Faso to check the advance of Islamist militants in that country, APA learnt on Monday.
Civilians in the north of Ghana have been moving southward for fear of terrorist raids originating fro insurgents in Burkina Faso.
400 Ghanaian troops have been deployed to the northern town of Bawku in recent days deal with ethnically based hositities between the Kusasi and Mamprusi communities. Intelligence reports suggest that the Burkna Faso-based insurgents Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin or JNIM, and others with alleged links to the Islamic State, have infiltrated both communities and are being blamed for the violence.
They have been accused by local authorities in the region of smuggling weapons and stolen cattle.
Militry sources in Ghana say although Ghana has not been directly targeted by the militant groups, the troop deployment is an act of precaution against such an eventuality.
Military operating bases are being planned in the Upper East and Upper West regions along the Burkina Faso border.
The Ghanaian Air Force earlier this year announced the building of an air base in Jogboi to support ground troops stationed in the north.
WN/as/APA