Gov’t denies deployment of 300 British soldiers to Ghana under the Accra Initiative
The Government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, has denied media reportage indicating that some 300 soldiers of the UK Special Forces are expected in Ghana following their withdrawal from Mali to help support the Accra Initiative.
Describing the media reportage as false, the Ministry noted that neither Ghana nor the six other member states of the Accra Initiative has discussed with the UK or any other foreign government for that, any such request nor contemplated the involvement of foreign forces in any of their activities.
“While member states of the Accra Initiative appreciate the partnerships they share with the international community, either on an individual basis or collectively, the kinds of support envisaged under the Accra Initiative will not extend to the involvement of foreign troops,” the Ministry noted in a statement issued on Tuesday, November 22.
The reportage by UK-based media outlet, The Telegraph, follows the participation of the UK Minister for Armed Forces, Rt Hon James Heappey, in the Accra Initiative Conference which took place on November 21 and 22, 2022.
The Accra Initiative (AI) is a cooperative and collaborative security mechanism launched in 2017 by President Akufo-Addo with his colleagues from Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Togo.
The current members of the Initiative are Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Mali and Niger.
The Initiative aims to prevent a spill over of terrorism from the Sahel and to address transnational organized crime within the common border areas of member states.
The Initiative is to further exchange intelligence, build capacity and undertake military action against terrorist forces in the Sahel that threaten coastal West Africa.
The Accra Initiative is an African-led, African-executed initiative which would depend solely on the armed forces of its member states.
