40 suspected ex-combatants from Ivory Coast arrested in Ghana

ACCRA, Ghana – A Ghanaian Interior Ministry official says that security forces have arrested 40 suspected ex-combatants at a camp housing refugees from neighboring Ivory Coast.

Tetteh Padi, program coordinator for the Ghana Refugee Board, said late Monday that the arrests were carried out Saturday at the Ampain refugee camp in the country's southwest. He said the suspected ex-combatants were being screened, and that some had been found to be legitimate refugees.

After the fall in Ivory Coast of ex-President Laurent Gbagbo, thousands of Ivorians who had ties to the former leader fled across the border into Ghana. The government of current Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has raised concerns about Gbagbo allies who are in exile in Ghana, accusing them of masterminding a recent spate of attacks on Ivory Coast military positions.