Interior Minister assigns Peace Committee to provide sustainable solutions to Gbiniyiri conflict

The Minister for the Interior, Mr. Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has constituted a seven-member committee to mediate and promote reconciliation in the Gbiniyiri land conflict in the Savannah Region.

The violence, which broke out on August 24, 2025, following a dispute over farmland, has claimed 31 lives and left 18 others injured.

The clashes, triggered by the sale of land by the local chief to a private developer, have spread across about 12 communities in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District.

The unrest has forced nearly 48,000 residents to flee their homes, with more than 13,000 crossing into Côte d’Ivoire, while others are being sheltered in camps managed by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Ghana Red Cross Society. Women and children form the majority of those displaced, raising humanitarian concerns.

President John Dramani Mahama has taken measures to address the situation, including increasing security in the area, holding talks with the Yagbonwura and other traditional leaders, and sending the Interior Minister to lead a government delegation to Sawla and Bole.

The President appealed to all parties to support government efforts, stressing the importance of dialogue and respect for the rule of law.

During the inauguration ceremony in Accra on Monday, September 8, 2025, Mr. Muntaka outlined the terms of reference for the new committee.

The committee, chaired by Mr. Emmanuel Habuka Bombande of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), will facilitate the safe return of displaced persons, assess the scale of destruction, encourage dialogue, propose measures to sustain peace, and strengthen local institutions against future violence.

The other members are Alhaji Collins Dauda, Member of Parliament and Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Lands and Natural Resources; Rev Fr Lazarus Annyereh, Chair of the Savannah Regional Peace Council; Dr Festus Aubyn of WANEP; Ms Sylvia Horname Noagbesenu, Acting Director of the Women, Youth, Peace and Security Institute at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre; Prof Ramatu Alhassan of the University of Ghana; and Dr George Amoh, Executive Secretary of the National Peace Council.

Mr Muntaka urged the committee to work impartially and engage chiefs, opinion leaders, civil society and security agencies in efforts to restore peace and trust. He also encouraged them to work with development partners and faith-based organisations.

Mr Bombande, on his part, said the committee would provide clear recommendations to guide government interventions in supporting the affected communities with recovery and resettlement.