UNHCR, the U.N.'s refugee agency, has expressed concern about reports that Ghana's armed forces this week deported hundreds of asylum-seekers who were fleeing an insurgency in neighboring Burkina Faso.
Ghana's military said it only expels illegal immigrants and suspected terrorists, but an activist who made a recording of the forced deportations says the move involved mostly women and children seeking refuge from the violence.
The widely circulated video on microblogging site Twitter showed scores of dejected women sitting on the ground with their children in a parking lot with buses, as Ghanaian immigration officers took their information in the Upper East Region bordering Burkina Faso.
Ali Sulemana, a leading member of Tabital Pulaaku — an organization promoting and protecting the arts and culture of the Fula people — described the scene to VOA.
"They were crying and they didn't know what to do. They are even confused. They don't even know where to go and settle again. So, their lives have been condemned," Sulemana said. "Taking these people to Burkina they don't have any place to go. When they go there it may force some of them also to join the terrorists or may end up being killed by the Jihadists."
Attacks in Burkina Faso by extremist groups have led to political instability, with more than two million people fleeing their homes to seek shelter in neighboring countries, including Ghana. Thousands have been killed, according to the UNHCR, and six million individuals have been displaced in the region as a result of activities of armed groups.
A statement issued Wednesday by UNHCR called on the Ghanaian government "to cease these expulsions, which amount to a violation of the non-refoulement principle and guarantee access to the territory and asylum to nationals of Burkina Faso seeking international protection."
Under the non-refoulement principle, a country that receives asylum-seekers cannot send them back to a nation where they would face the prospect of persecution.
Reacting to the claim, Ghana's national security ministry issued a statement on Thursday, saying the government is not engaging in forced repatriation of Burkina Faso refugees.
The statement said, "Contrary to claims that displaced Burkinabes are being forced out of Ghana, a repatriation process has been instituted … to aid the movement of Burkinabes, who wish to return to their country. The repatriation process is consistent with international protocols on the management of refugees."
Kofi Amankwa-Manu, the deputy minister of defense, said Tuesday's repatriation involved suspected terrorists and persons who are staying in Ghana illegally. He said the issue has nothing to do with refugees.
"Most of them are seeking refuge in Ghana and so we have droves of herdsmen. Some members of these terrorist armed groups being illegal immigrants have found their way to Ghana. So, the armed forces are helping to really deal with this issue of not allowing these illegal immigrants and herdsmen and these terrorist groupings free movement," he said.
Ghana is currently hosting more than 8,000 Burkinabe nationals as a result of conflict in their country.
A reception center managed jointly by the Ghana Refugee Board and UNHCR with a capacity of 4,000 individuals has been set up in the Upper East Region to move Burkinabe refugees away from the border for security reasons. Currently, 530 displaced Burkinabes are being accommodated at the center.
