Officials in Ghana have said that Togolese nationals who fled their country following a crackdown on protesters demanding an end to the Gnassingbe dynasty have started returning home.
The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR has said that over 500 Togolese fled violence to Ghana.
Those who fled entered Ghana’s towns of Chereponi, Zabzugu and Bunkpurugu-Yunyuo. These communities share border with Togo at the north of Ghana.
On Monday officials of Ghana’s Refugee Board said over 200 of those who entered Ghana seeking refuge have now returned to Togo.
Programs coordinator of the Refugee Board in Ghana, Tetteh Paddy told local media Starr FM that “We sent a team up north to go and check and do verification of registration and we registered 365 which meant that many of them have returned because at some point we had about 600”.
Last week the President of Togo, Faure Gnassingbe claimed during a visit to the Temedja military camp, north of Lome that “Togo is currently disrupted by demonstrations, which, far from being peaceful as permitted by law, have often been extremely violent.”
“Those who organise these events bear the heavy responsibility for the victims and the damage they caused,” he said in a speech broadcast on national television.
The opposition is bent on ensuring that Faure Gnassingbe who took over from his father Eyadema 12 years ago after he died while in power for 38 years does not continue to serve as leader of the country.
Last week the government announced plans to hold talks with opposition protesters, months after series of protests.
Faure Gnassingbe won elections in 2005, 2010 and 2015 but got the two-term limit for presidents scrapped a year ago to allow him to further prolong his rule.
Source: Africafeeds.com
