Political interests are fueling Bawku conflict – Antwi-Danso

Security analyst and international affairs expert, Dr. Vladimir Antwi-Danso, has raised concerns over the continued political interference in the Bawku conflict.

According to him, political interference is one of the primary forces sustaining the unrest in the area.

Speaking on Channel One Newsroom on Sunday, July 27, 2025, Dr. Antwi-Danso indicated that the government’s strategy of deploying security forces to the area, though necessary, will not provide a lasting solution if deeper, structural issues are not addressed.

“…military presence, police presence in their numbers will not solve the problem,” he noted. “There are several pillars propping up the conflict. It could be history that has not been properly related, and we’re adding on and twisting history.

“It may be the media—the way we handle it. It may be the people themselves or intra-community miscommunication. It could be politics.”

He made it clear that political interests are deeply entrenched in the Bawku crisis: “In the Bawku case, politics is one of the greatest beams supporting the conflict,” the he emphasized.

Dr. Antwi-Danso cautioned that without confronting and dismantling these underlying factors, any peace efforts would be short-lived. “So until you remove these props one by one for the conflict triangle to fall, you have done nothing. So using the military often is only a stopgap,” he stated.

His assessment comes on the back of renewed clashes in Bawku that have led to the reintroduction of curfews and the evacuation of students from volatile zones. The violence is linked to longstanding chieftaincy tensions that have plagued the region for decades.\

Meanwhile, the Government of Ghana has announced the evacuation of students from Bawku, Nalerigu, and surrounding areas, following the imposition of a curfew aimed at restoring calm in regions affected by renewed violence.

A statement released by the Presidency on Sunday, July 27, 2025, emphasized that the curfew—from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. daily—is not only to maintain law and order, but also to “create an environment conducive to the evacuation of all students in various educational institutions in affected areas, some of whom have been unfortunately targeted in the conflict.”

The statement, signed by the Spokesperson to the President and Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, follows a directive earlier issued by the Ministry of the Interior. That directive revised curfew hours in the Bawku Municipality and its environs based on recommendations by the Upper East Regional Security Council.