Ghana becoming fertile grounds for arms proliferation - WAANSA

Tamale, May 15, GNA - The West Africa Action Network on Small Arms (WAANSA-Ghana) has warned that the country was increasingly becoming fert= ile grounds for the proliferations of small and light weapons, which if not checked, could create insecurity. Mr. Francis Ameyibor, National Treasurer of WAANSA said this was manifest in the several conflicts being experienced in some parts of the country especially the northern parts.

Mr Ameyibor made this known in Tamale on Friday at a press conferenc= e organized to create awareness for safer communities with fewer guns under=

the theme; "Action Against Gun Violence, Time to Act". He said most of those weapons entered the country through unapproved=

roots and that the government must fight this menace before it became difficult to control. Mr. Mahama Mustapha Braimah, Northern Regional Administrator of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), urged people to use the alternative dispute resolution mechanism for the prevention and settlemen= t of disputes instead of resorting to the use of arms.

He called for the registration of all guns in the country to make it=

possible to trace the source of guns and their owners and urged the secur= ity agencies to take steps to arrest illegal possession of weapons. Mr Braimah appealed to conflict zones in the north and other parts o= f the country to settle for peace as the best method to live collectively.