Reports coming out of Ghana this morning speaks of at least 5 Liberians reportedly been shot dead by Ghanaian police at the Buduburan Refugee Camp outside Accra during a riot over leadership.
According to report still coming in, the incident occurred Sunday at a Church when a group of Liberian refugees attempted installing a new leadership despite call from the refugee board to halt the process.
Reports say there has been opposition against the current leadership at the Buduburan Camp headed by Varney Sambola. Mr. Sambola has been accused of tribalism and being in cohort with both the UNHCR and the Ghanaian authorities to relegate the interest of the Liberian refugees.
According to one eyewitness, the police surrounded the hall where the ceremony was set to take place and arrested two, including the 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 gun shots and tear gas," the eyewitness said.
Police in Ghana have arrested a Liberian, Tyrone Marshall, said to be ringleader of the campaign to replace the current leadership on the camp. Other sources said the police are moving from house to house rounding up Liberians.
A resident of the camp told journalist by phone that reinforcement of the Ghanaian police in their hundreds has surrendered the refugee camp to the total amazement of the camp dwellers!
Another said that police are rounding up every male refugee as night falls going from door to door asking every occupants to come outside with their identification cards and as the result of that every male Liberian refugees has taken to their heels to safety in the surrounding villages within the Gomoa district and parts of Accra!
while we do not question the Ghanaian authorities right to maintain law and order in their country,they also have a duty to protect every one that resides within their borders. Did they really have to to use live bullets against unarmed people?
The Buduburam Refugee Camp has been home to refugees who fled the civil war in Liberia more than two decades ago. The camp currently hosts 15,000 to 18,000 refugees from Liberia and Sierra Leone as well as nationals from other West African countries, many of whom have settled into what has now become a town.
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