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Ghana investigates Islamic State recruitment in universities | Ghana investigates Islamic State recruitment in universities |
(35 minutes later) | |
Ghana's authorities are investigating several universities over links to suspected recruitment for the so-called Islamic State (IS), officials say. | Ghana's authorities are investigating several universities over links to suspected recruitment for the so-called Islamic State (IS), officials say. |
IS agents recruited students after urging them to join radical online forums, National Security Coordinator Yaw Donkor told state media. | IS agents recruited students after urging them to join radical online forums, National Security Coordinator Yaw Donkor told state media. |
Mr Donkor confirmed that two Ghanaians had travelled to join IS, the first such cases that have been reported. | Mr Donkor confirmed that two Ghanaians had travelled to join IS, the first such cases that have been reported. |
Ghana has so far been unaffected by Islamist militancy. | Ghana has so far been unaffected by Islamist militancy. |
Mr Donkor said there was "no reason to fear", adding that "only a handful" of Ghanaians had gone to join the militant group. | Mr Donkor said there was "no reason to fear", adding that "only a handful" of Ghanaians had gone to join the militant group. |
The wealth of IS meant that potential recruits had found the offers made to them by the militants' "irresistible", he added. | The wealth of IS meant that potential recruits had found the offers made to them by the militants' "irresistible", he added. |
The recruits had travelled through Burkina Faso or Nigeria, before receiving training at a camp in Niger, and then making the onward journey to Turkey or Syria, the National Security Coordinator said. | The recruits had travelled through Burkina Faso or Nigeria, before receiving training at a camp in Niger, and then making the onward journey to Turkey or Syria, the National Security Coordinator said. |
Analysis: Sammy Darko, BBC News, Accra | |
Many people here are extremely shocked by this news. Ghanaians are surprised because they have always seen Islamist militancy as a distant threat. | |
But it is now dawning on this West African nation that the problem may have reached closer to home. | |
The issue has become part of a nationwide discourse. Parents are worrying about their children and the Muslim community is anxious to disassociate itself from Islamist extremism. | |
Mohammad Nazir Nortei Alema, a 25 year old who studied geography at the prestigious Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, was confirmed as one of those who had joined IS. | Mohammad Nazir Nortei Alema, a 25 year old who studied geography at the prestigious Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, was confirmed as one of those who had joined IS. |
"It's like someone in the family has died," his father Abdul Latif Alema told the BBC on Tuesday, after he had received a Whatsapp message from his son explaining that he was going to join the group. | "It's like someone in the family has died," his father Abdul Latif Alema told the BBC on Tuesday, after he had received a Whatsapp message from his son explaining that he was going to join the group. |
IS, notorious for its brutality, holds vast swathes of territory across Iraq and Syria. | IS, notorious for its brutality, holds vast swathes of territory across Iraq and Syria. |
But the group has also established a presence in Africa, with militant groups in Nigeria, Egypt and Libya pledging allegiance to it and carrying out bombing campaigns in its name. | But the group has also established a presence in Africa, with militant groups in Nigeria, Egypt and Libya pledging allegiance to it and carrying out bombing campaigns in its name. |