Ghana: 54 Liberian Refugee Arrested in Ghana
By Shout-Africa Correspondent – The Buduburam Refugee Camp has been home to refugees who fled the civil war in Liberia over two decades ago.One person has been confirmed dead in violent disturbances that broke out Sunday morning at the Buduburam camp for refugees.
An unspecified number of people were injured in the incident as the police fired tear gas and gunshots to control angry stone-throwing residents.This started when the police picked up two person ahead of the morning ceremony these were the spokesperson for JOLREG called ‘Marshall’ and the intended women to sworn in name withheld .
The residents were swearing in new leaders without the approval of the authorities.
According to one eyewitness, the police surrounded the hall where the ceremony was scheduled to take place at 0900 hrs GMT and arrested two persons including the new leader who was about to be sworn-in.
“As the police drove off with the two, some residents pelted the convoy and the police responded with gunshots and tear gas”, the eyewitness said.
The Police spokesperson however tells in an interview with a relaible source revealed that they were called in to quell disturbances between two rival factions both claiming to be the legitimate leaders.
According to the Police spokesperson, Kwesi Ofori one of the factions was trying to install a new leader in place of the existing leadership.
He said 30 people were arrested but that calm has since been restored reliable report froma closed source the police picked up 42 initially and later brought in 10 Liberian boy caught. Eyewitness accounts however say as many as 54 were arrested in the incident.
The camp currently hosts between 15,000 and 18,000 refugees from Liberia and Sierra Leone as well as nationals from other West African countries many of whom have settled in to what has now become a town.
The arrested Liberian refugees at Buduburam
The bulletin board of the UNHCR at the Camp destroyed
