AFRICA ( commonwealth Union ) _ Salifu Bashru, a senior member of the Mamprusi tribe, reports that if al Qaeda militants launch an attack, they will undoubtedly target and kill his competitors from the Kusasi group first.
In recent months, the 65-year-old bloody conflict between Mamprusi and Kusasi over which ethnic group controls this little city in northern Ghana has escalated, with neighbours exchanging machine-gun fire and one side pledging to never allow the other to have its way.
Therefore, Mr. Salifu is less concerned about al Qaeda invading Ghana than he is about gunmen from the terrorist organization sweeping through Kusasi areas. The 60-year-old, who was seated in front of a mural naming Mamprusis who had held the position of paramount chief of the Kusasi, pledged, “We wouldn’t help the Kusasi at all.”
The battle between the two major ethnic groups in Bawku is extremely localized yet might have global repercussions. Officials from Ghana and the United States are concerned that al Qaeda terrorists, who have recently assaulted towns in Burkina Faso only a few miles away, could take advantage of the unrest to create a base in Ghana, a regional power and ally of the United States recognized for its comparatively stable and prosperous environment.
Militants from Islamic State and al Qaeda have expanded like an ink stain during the past five years in the semiarid Sahel region of West Africa, claiming thousands of lives in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
Inciting local tensions and grievances in order to attract young men is one of their favourite recruitment strategies. This tactic has contributed to making Africa—from Mozambique in the south to Somalia in the east—the principal theatre of battle in the long-running conflict between the West and its regional allies and Islamist radicals.
Al Qaeda might eventually get access to income from trade through Atlantic ports if it expands into Ghana. Ghana is a significant producer of gold and cocoa. According to U.S. military officers in Africa, militants in West African territory forcefully collect taxes from artisanal gold miners, which are widespread in northern Ghana.
