General News of Monday, 19 September 2011

Source: GNA

Six more Ivorian refugees arrested for murder

Half Assini (W/R), Sept. 19, GNA — Six Ivorians at the Eagle Star Transit Refugee Camp at Elubo have been arrested by the Half Assini Police to help in their investigations into the murder of two refugees at the camp.

This brings to 32, the number of Ivorian refuges who have been arrested in connection with the death of Konan Sindou, 38 and Coulibaley Issifu 30.

The Jomoro District Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) John Ferguson Dzineku made this known to the Ghana News Agency at Half Assini.

He said the names culprits are being withheld for security reasons adding that during investigations the police discovered blood stains on the tents and shirts of some of the arrested refugees.

He said Sindou and Issifu arrived at the Elubo border from Cote d’ Ivoire on September 15 to seek refugee status in Ghana with the UNHCR.

DSP Dzineku said officials of the UNHCR screened and sent them to the Elubo camp to be transported later to any of the refugee camps at Ampain or Egyirikrom near Elmina.

He said immediately Sindou and Issifu reached the camp some of the refugees protested against their presence with the explanation that they were Burkinabe nationals and could therefore not stay with them.

DSP Dzineku said the authorities requested Sindou and Issifu to produce their Ivorian citizen identification cards, which they did.

He said the two men were therefore accepted at the camp and to the dismay of the authorities, they were found dead the following morning in a nearby bush with bruises at the neck of one of them.

He said the bodies have been deposited at the Half Assini Government Hospital morgue for autopsy.