The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has said the Government of Ghana has had no interactions with the UK Government aimed at deploying UK soldiers to Ghana to support the Accra Initiative.
In a statement from the Ministry, the attention of the Government of Ghana has been drawn to a news item by “the Telegraph” which was carried by Ghanaweb on 22nd November, 2022, captioned “British soldiers expected in Ghana after withdrawal from Mali”.
The story by “The Telegraph” which was authored by Will Brown their Africa correspondent, stated that the British Government had taken a decision to send 300 special forces units to Ghana to support the Accra Initiative.
The Government of Ghana has no interactions with the UK Government aimed at deploying UK soldiers to Ghana for purposes of operations as described in the story.
According to the statement, the presence of the UK Minister for the Armed Forces in Accra, was to participate in the Accra Initiative Conference on 21st and 22nd November 2022.
The Accra Initiative (Al)
The Accra Initiative (Al) is a cooperative and collaborative security mechanism, launched in 2017 under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo with his colleagues from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, and Togo. The current members of the Initiative are Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Mali, and Niger.
The Initiative aims to prevent a spill over of terrorism from the Sahel and to address transnational organized crime within the common border areas of member states. The initiative is to further exchange intelligence, build capacity and undertake military action against terrorist forces in the Sahel that threaten coastal west Africa. The Accra Initiative is an African-led, African-executed initiative which would depend solely on the armed forces of its member states.
Source: Peacefmonline.com
