Ghana agreed to host two former detainees, Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby from the Guantanamo Bay camp in Cuba.
The two ex-Guantanamo Bay detainees arrived in the country on January 6 this year and will stay in the country for two years.
They were in detention for close to 14 years after being picked up in Afghanistan and suspected to have been linked to the terrorist group, Al-Qaeda.
As part of fulfilling a policy by United States (US) president, Barrack Obama to close down a detention center in Guantanamo Bay, detainees who pose no threat are being released to return to their countries.
Attackers raided a luxury hotel in Burkina Faso on the night of Friday January 15, shooting some and taking others hostage in a siege that lasted hours and ended with 29 people dead.
Security forces entered the hotel early Saturday and freed 126 hostages, half of whom were hospitalized, according to Burkina Faso’s foreign minister, Alpha Barry.
An al Qaeda-linked terrorist group claimed responsibility for the assault at Splendid Hotel — a popular meeting place for Western diplomats in the capital, Ouagadougou.
The assault appeared well-planned, with some of the attackers going to the hotel during the day and mingling with guests, Burkinabe authorities said.
Before the Splendid Hotel assault, the terrorists attacked the Cappuccino Café nearby, which had about 100 people, according to the state broadcaster.
The two incidents have compelled high profiled hotels in the country to put measures in place to protect their customers.
NewsGhana can report that security personnel at the plush Alisa Hotel were seen Tuesday morning using modern sophisticated security gadgets screening people and vehicles entering their premises.
Besides, there were other security personnel patrolling the outer premises as well as in the hotel itself ensuring that no person or group persons orchestrated any move to put the lives of their clients in danger.
In a related development, the government of Benin has asked hotel owners to acquire scanners within the next one month to prevent terrorist attacks, an official source said.
Besides this measure, the government further asked hotel owners across the country to systematically register their customers.
The government has equally asked all local elected leaders as well as members of the public to inform authorities of suspicious individuals. Enditem.
Source: NewsGhana.com.gh
