By Albert Futukpor
Gyinavore (S/R), June 04, GNA – The Savannah Regional Peace Council has held community-based dialogues at Gyinavore, Garimayiri and Kukuteen in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District on combating violent conflict, violent extremism and illicit economic activities.
The dialogues, held for two days in each of the communities in the Savannah Region, were organised with support from the Embassies of Denmark, Luxembourg and South Korea through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Over 150 participants including traditional authorities, religious leaders, assembly and unit committee members, women, youth groups and representatives of the security agencies took part in the dialogues.
The dialogues were in line with the peacebuilding mandate of the Peace Council and efforts to prevent violence-related conflicts in the region.
They also formed part of the Preventive Approach to Protecting Development in the Gulf of Guinea (Prevention Facility) – Ghana Project, an initiative, championed by the UNDP and its development partners.
The project seeks to protect and consolidate development gains by preventing violent conflict, extremism and illicit economic activities through strengthening the resilience of border communities and their residents.
Mr Kennedy Atiibo, the Regional Executive Secretary, Savannah Regional Peace Council, speaking during the dialogues in the communities, emphasized that the threat of violent extremism was real and more imminent than many people imagined.
He said the Peace Council and its partners recognized the potent, plausible, imminent danger of extremist groups capitalizing on weaknesses and using border communities as entry points into Ghana, hence the dialogues.
He said the dialogues also sought to sensitize, empower, and build the resilience of border and at-risk communities and stakeholders.
He emphasised that violent extremism posed serious threats to the country’s collective security and development and therefore required united and coordinated response from all citizens and institutions.
Mr Atiibo said given the geographical location of the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District, the border communities remained particularly vulnerable to the growing threat of violent extremism spreading southwards from the Sahel region through Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire.
He said unresolved social conflicts and grievances including farmer-herder conflicts, ethnic tensions and perceptions of marginalization created fertile ground for extremist groups to exploit existing vulnerabilities and advance their activities.
He reminded the participants that they were the gateway from the Sahel to Ghana, and as such very important stakeholders in the country’s efforts to prevent and counter violent extremism.
Participants were taken through topics including understanding and preventing violent conflict and violent extremism, vulnerability factors and drivers of extremism, early warning and reporting mechanisms, border security management and the role of communities in preventing and countering extremism.
Several social issues emerged during the dialogues, which included the prevalence of farmer-herder conflicts, ethnic tensions arising from marginalization, discrimination, and ethnic profiling, poor civilian-security relations and the growing presence of criminal networks operating along border communities within the district.
For sustainable peace and development to be achieved in the district, participants called on the relevant authorities to prioritize and address the conflicts without delay.
Mr Atiibo said through the engagements, relationships between community members and security agencies were strengthened with parties pledging to work together to prevent violent extremism to safeguard the collective wellbeing of their communities.
GNA
Edited by Eric K. Amoh/Benjamin Mensah