The Convention People's Party (CPP) has appealed to the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) to intervene in the resolution of the conflict in Bawku to bring lasting peace to the area.
The Party said the ethnic and political dimensions of the Bawku conflict had fuelled mistrust among the feuding factions, hence the need for a "neutral force" to intervene and bring the fighters "to submission." In an interview with the Ghana News Agency as part of the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Accra, Nana Akosua Frimpomaa Sarpong-Kumankumah, the Flagbearer of the CPP in the 2024 Presidential Election, said ECOMOG's intervention would help disarm combatants and "silence the guns in Bawku." She noted that failure to silence the guns before embarking on negotiation missions would make the work of mediators difficult. "I call on ECOMOG to intervene to resolve the protracted Bawku conflict.
I believe that negotiations have been ongoing, yet we continue to hear of all kinds of weapons being displayed," Nana Sarpong-Kumankumah said. "It is important that a group of people who are neutral and trusted goes in with a certain commanding force to disarm everyone and bring them to the table for negotiations." Expressing concern over the recent spate of attacks in the Bawku area, the CPP Flagbearer said the West African community must "show empathy" for women and children affected by the conflict and support efforts to resolve it.
ECOMOG is the military arm of ECOWAS.
