Ghana: Mahama, we are on terror alert

(AGI) - Accra, Sep 16 - President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama has revealed that Ghana is joining forces with other African countries to combat terrorism in the West African sub-region. "As a government, we are making all efforts to integrate our defence structures properly into the sub-regional cooperation framework by which the needed synergy will be created to enhance our collective chances of success in the fight against terrorism," he said at the Military Academy Graduation Parade on Friday September 16 in Accra. There have been several terrorist attacks in West Africa recently. Gunmen on Sunday, March 13, 2016 killed 19 people at a beachside resort in Ivory Coast. The attack was claimed by al-Qaeda's North African branch, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The same group said it was behind a January attack on a hotel and restaurant in Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou that killed 29 people as well as a November 2015 hotel siege in Mali. Mr Mahama promised that "government will continue to retool" the military to enhance their job of defending the country at all times. In relation to the country's 2016 general elections, he cautioned members of the public to desist from any speech or comment that has the potential to spark violence. Mr Mahama indicated that it was important for every citizen to guard against intemperate language and accept diverse opinions to ensure an incident-free election on December 7. He also urged cooperation between citizens and all stakeholders involved in the electioneering process to ensure smooth polls on Election Day. "We must remain temperate in our utterances and be tolerant of opposing views. I appeal to all Ghanaians to cooperate with security services and institutions tasked with success of the elections," he entreated. He said government "will do everything to ensure credible elections" and stressed the need to hand over leadership at all levels into "capable hands". (AGI) .