The Vice President of Ghana, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, announced that the government will intervene in the ongoing clashes between the Fulani herdsmen and farmers, particularly in the Kwahu region of Afram, Graphic Ghana reported on January 24. In addition to increasing security personnel in the area, the government plans to build kraals to confine Fulani cattle, thereby preventing the cattle from wandering onto farmed areas and destroying crops. "The time has come for security agencies to be given the necessary resources to deal with the problems posed by the Fulani herdsmen decisively," said Defense Minister Kwame Addo Kufuour, according to the Ghanian Chronicle. The government intervention comes at the urging of the Kwahu leadership, who allege that the Fulani are responsible for raping women and children, burning homes, and destroying property in Kwahu. The Fulani deny these allegations, and were themselves victims of government-sponsored violence in October 2005, when the Kwahu South District Assembly of Ghana burned an estimated 100 Fulani homes and killed an unspecified number of cattle in an attempt by to flush the herdsmen out of the area. The persistent conflict between the agriculturists and herdsman stems from the decrease in area resources resulting from population increases.
