Ghana land dispute clashes kill 31, displace 48,000

Communal clashes in northern Ghana that started late last month have killed at least 31 people and displaced nearly 50,000, officials said Thursday, with more than 13,000 fleeing across the border into Ivory Coast.

The violence in Ghana’s Savannah Region broke out on August 24 in the village of Gbiniyiri, near the Ivorian border, the result of an escalating land dispute that has engulfed a dozen communities.

The conflict began when the local chief sold a parcel of land to a private developer, without broader community consent. When the developer attempted to access the land to begin work, residents resisted violently.

Frustration reached a peak when the chief’s palace was set on fire.

Communal conflicts over land and chieftaincy disputes are recurrent in Ghana’s north, though displacement on this scale is rare.

Interior Minister Mubarak Muntaka said in a radio interview Thursday that 13,253 Ghanaians had crossed into Ivory Coast, citing figures from Ivorian authorities.

Philippe Hien, president of the Bounkani regional council, told AFP that “there are 13,000 people who have arrived in 17 villages” in the area, which is already home to 30,000 refugees from conflict-hit Burkina Faso.

Ghana’s National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) said around 48,000 people had been forced from their homes, mostly women and children.

“For the past five days we haven’t had any gunshots, killings or attacks,” Savannah Regional NADMO Director Zakaria Mahama told AFP, adding that many displaced are beginning to return home.

Both Mahama and Muntaka confirmed the toll of 31 dead.

Some families are sheltering several dozen relatives in cramped rooms, while those in makeshift displacement camps often only have one meal a day, Mahama said.

On the security front, Muntaka said more than 700 military and police officers had been deployed and a curfew instituted.

Savannah Regional Minister Salisu Bi-Awuribe said calm was gradually returning as chiefs and elders worked with security agencies to prevent further clashes.

Authorities fear food shortages after families abandoned farms and livestock during the exodus.

An investigative committee is being set up with traditional rulers and the National Peace Council to probe the causes and promote reconciliation.

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