The Western Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has denied reports of the influx of refugees from Cote d’Ivoire into the country through Elubo, Jewi-Wharf, New Town and other entry points in the region.
It said since the crisis began in that country, the region had not recorded even a single person as a refugee and that places prepared for that possibility in the Ellembele District were still unoccupied.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Western Regional Minister and Chairman of the REGSEC, Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, said those reported as refugees were actually seasonal fishermen and their families who were returning home after their fishing expedition.
He said it was important not to confuse Ghanaian fishermen returning home with refugees seeking asylum as a result of the conflict in their home country.
“The REGSEC is in touch with the relevant institutions and has mounted surveillance at the various entry points but no refugee has been recorded,” he said.
He said trading between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire had resumed in a very peaceful manner and there was no sign of the influx of refugees.
Mr Aidoo said the people of Cote d’Ivoire and the Western Region, especially those living close to the border, were blood relations and the people from the other side of the border should not, therefore, be mistaken for refugees.
When the Daily Graphic got to the three most prominent entry points in the Jomoro District, namely, New Town, Jewi-Wharf and Elubo, traders were doing brisk business.
The people were surprised about the news of the influx of refugees into Ghana, explaining that the situation in their country did not warrant such an action.
When contacted, the District Police Commander, DSP John F. Dzineku, told the Daily Graphic that there had not been any record of refugees.
Other security agencies at the border corroborated the claim that there was no rush of refugees into the country, noting that trading between the two countries had rather resumed.
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