Ghana on high alert over fresh terror threats

Ghana's security services have been put on high alert, especially along the frontier with Burkina Faso, following what they described as confirmation of fresh terror attack threats on the country.

An internal memo from the country's security outfit said the authorities had received an alert from Cote d'Ivoire dated April 9 that "a possible terrorist attack on the country is real".

According to the National Security Council (NSC), the alert was based on revelations by an alleged Malian terrorist being interrogated by security agencies of Cote d'Ivoire, which indicate that Ghana was on their target list.

The terror suspect was arrested after the attack on seaside resort of Grand-Bassam in Cote d'Ivoire last month.

The suspect said the planned attack on Ghana was to erase the erroneous impression that the terror attacks were only targeted at Francophone countries.

"You are to conduct thorough profiling of all persons arriving from the perceived high risk countries within the region (Libya, Niger and Mali)," the alert instructed security services, especially those along the country's border with Burkina Faso.

In a statement on a regional radio station on Thursday, President John Dramani Mahama urged Ghanaians not to panic over the alert.

"We need the alertness of the public; the public needs to be more alert today than before; if you see any strange person, any strange movement, you just need to report to the security services," said the president.

"We must deal with this without creating panic amongst our people," he added.

Gunmen in January attacked the Cappuccino Restaurant and the Splendid Hotel in the Burkinabe capital, Ouagadougou, with fatalities reaching 30.

Later in March, another group of gunmen opened fire at the Grand-Bassam Resort in Cote d'Ivoire, killing at least 22 people. Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the attack.

Source: Xinhua