ACCRA: Ghana’s Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and 7 others have been killed on Wednesday (Aug 6) when a navy helicopter crashed, the federal government mentioned, calling it a nationwide tragedy.
The Z9 airforce helicopter was carrying high officers, together with Boamah and Setting, Science and Expertise Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, when radar contact was misplaced earlier within the day.
“The president and authorities lengthen our condolences and sympathies to the households of our comrades and the servicemen who died in service to the nation,” mentioned Julius Debrah, chief of workers to President John Mahama.
Authorities haven’t but given a purpose for the crash, which additionally killed three airforce crew members and two different officers.
SECURITY CHALLENGES
Boamah, a former communications minister, was appointed defence minister in January after Mahama returned to energy. His successor will now inherit a fancy safety portfolio that features each inside and exterior threats.
Ghana, like different coastal West African nations, faces growing dangers from Islamist militants working within the Sahel. Armed teams lively in Mali and Burkina Faso have tried to push south, staging lethal assaults in border areas.
Along with exterior threats, Ghana is grappling with home unrest. Final month, a spokesperson for Mahama mentioned extra troops had been deployed to the nation’s northeast to include a long-running chieftaincy battle that has just lately flared, together with assaults on faculties.
