Security Analyst, Col Festus Aboagye (Rtd), has suggested that the government changes its approach to addressing the prolonged Bawku crisis.

He has proposed a shift in the military strategy from peacekeeping engagements to increasing the size of the military deployment to the area.

Sharing his views on the matter on JoyNews’ PM Express on July 28, 2025, Col Aboagye stated that the gravity of the situation does not warrant a shift from peacekeeping to peace enforcement.

He believes that the military deployment must dominate the conflict area; hence, he proposed that increasing the number of military personnel in the area could bring the situation under control.

“I think that the shift, or the transition from peacekeeping to peace enforcement, is not applicable. He however, said that there are options other than shifting from peacekeeping to peace enforcement which could have been explored when this conflict escalated in late 2023, following the enskinment of the rival Bawku Chief, especially in 2024.

“The government's response was to deploy a task force of 500. It has been about 18 months but has this size of soldiers been sufficient? So, one of the first things we may want to look at is the size of the force.

“Can we, for instance, increase it by another 500 to 1,000 or 1,000 to 1,500 or 2,000 because this operation is about dominating the conflict area and dominance, first and foremost, is through personnel, boots on the ground,” he said.

The security expert also emphasised that while the focus should be on troop size, the government must ensure that deployed soldiers are properly equipped with the necessary logistics and equipment.

“Secondly, there have been occasions in the past when the military was using fuel coupons to draw fuel to be paid for by the government but the government was not paying. The fuel suppliers eventually withdrew their services. So, we need to enhance the logistics, provide the task force with more vehicle, more transport, including armored ones, and give them more fuel,” he added.

MAG/VPO

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