Retired security analyst Colonel Festus Aboagye says the deployment of military forces to Bawku and other parts of the north must strictly align with national and international legal frameworks.
This, he stressed, is despite the tragic killings of students and rising insecurity in the area.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Monday, July 28, Col Aboagye described the government’s response to the recent spike in violence as reactionary.
“I think we can say that the government is reactionary.”
He acknowledged the shift in security conditions but warned against excessive use of force.
“Of course, when tactical situations change, you change approaches. So it’s a matter of course that because of the situation, the dynamics are changing, including the geographical spread, including the nature of the targets, school kids being assassinated in a targeted manner.
“Military convoy coming under attack, the military responding and escalating to the extent where it exceeds its, you know, lawful use of force.”
Three students have been killed in the past few days in what are believed to be targeted attacks linked to the long-running Bawku chieftaincy conflict.
Two of the victims were students of Nalerigu Senior High School in the North East Region, while a third was a final-year student at Bawku Senior High School in the Upper East Region.
These incidents have provoked widespread outrage and led to renewed military deployment and tighter curfews across the affected regions.
While Col Aboagye supported appropriate measures to curb the violence, he stressed that the deployment of the armed forces must be framed and conducted lawfully.
“It’s appropriate that the government, you know, takes appropriate measures. However, I think we all need to understand that there has never been any peacekeeping involved. And I’ve always said that we must not use terminologies that do not apply.”
He warned against mislabeling the military operation as a peacekeeping mission.
“The term of peacekeeping is not a global application to all manner of conflicts. Bawku is an inter-ethnic conflict in a democracy.”
Instead, he called for clarity on the legal grounds for military involvement.
“So the state now needs to find room for the armed forces to deploy, one within the laws of the country and two subject to international law.”
Col Aboagye explained that the Bawku crisis falls within the realm of internal security, not international conflict.
“What is appropriately happening in Bawku it’s an internal security for we, the armed forces, will be rightly mandated to maintain, establish peace or restore, maintain and restore peace and stability.”
He cautioned against adopting force doctrines from conventional military contexts when dealing with internal conflict.
“We don’t need to necessarily use the term peace enforcement, even if the principles inheriting peace enforcement and types of operations will also apply to this situation.”
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