By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Pusu-Namoo, July 30, GNA – The National Peace Council has trained 27 members of newly constituted Local Peace Committees (LPCs) from three vulnerable communities to strengthen community-based mechanisms for preventing violent extremism and resolving conflicts.
The two-day training, held under the Preventing and Responding to Violent Extremism in the Atlantic Corridor Project, brought together nine participants each from Naaga in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality and Kansogo and Binaba in the Bawku West District.
The project is being implemented in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with funding support from the governments of Denmark and Norway.
The participants, including nine women and 18 men were taken through topics including understanding conflict, conflict analysis, conflict management and resolution mechanisms, drivers of violent extremism, extremist narratives and counter-narratives, and early warning and response systems, among others.
Mr Damien Asobayire, the Upper East Regional Executive Secretary of the National Peace Council, said the training formed part of the project’s third-quarter activities aimed at equipping communities identified as potential hotspots with the knowledge and skills to detect and respond to emerging security threats.
He explained that the committees were newly established because there were no similar peace structures at the district level.
“We expect that after the training and the development of their action plans, they will return to their communities and begin addressing identified issues. Where the challenges are beyond their capacity, they should report them to the Regional Peace Council for support,” he said.
Mr David Angaamba, the Principal Programme Manager at the Upper East Regional Peace Council, who facilitated sessions on understanding conflict and preventing violent extremism, urged the members to promote dialogue, tolerance and peaceful coexistence while remaining vigilant against extremist activities.
Mr Jeremiah A. Apabum, a representative of the Binaba Chief’s Palace and a committee member, said he had learned that dialogue and mediation remained the most effective ways of resolving disputes.
He said his community continued to face security concerns, including sporadic gunfire, highway attacks and its proximity to Burkina Faso, making the training particularly relevant.
Ms Sadia Ogoe, another committee member from Binaba, said: “When we go back, we will mobilise people in our community and educate them on what we have learned so that together we can help prevent conflict and improve security in our community.”
Mr Denis Atule Mbah, the Assembly Member for the Kansogo Electoral Area, said the committee would help strengthen vigilance in the border community, where residents maintained close ties with neighbouring communities in Burkina Faso.
He added that apart from the threat of violent extremism, the area also experienced land disputes, and pledged to leverage community durbars to educate residents on conflict prevention and peaceful coexistence.
Mr Charles Aniah, a pastor and committee member from Naaga, said the training had broadened his understanding of the destructive effects of conflict on development and livelihoods, and that he would take it upon himself to educate his church members to become advocates for peace.
Ms Achelisibanuro Atampugre, also from Naaga, noted that disputes over land and issues of drug abuse, particularly among the youth, often generated tensions within her community, adding that the knowledge acquired would help the committee mediate such conflicts before they escalated.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Reporter’s email address: [email protected]