Operation Eagle Claws Tests Ghana’s Preparation for Terrorist Attacks

ADF STAFF

Members of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) stepped from a helicopter and sprinted toward a simulated enemy with their weapons drawn as a commanding officer barked instructions.

It was the opening day of Operation Eagle Claws, an exercise meant to prepare military and emergency personnel to respond to terrorist threats.

The five-day annual exercise included members of the Ghana Police Service, Ghana National Fire Service, National Disaster Management Organization, National Ambulance Service, and other security and intelligence agencies. It concluded in late May.

“High Command intends to use this year’s exercise to equip troops with the requisite capacity to respond rapidly and effectively to terrorists and contemporary threats in the ‘Operation Conquered Fist’ Area of Operation as well as other parts of the country,” Col. Eric Aggrey-Quarshie, GAF’s public relations director, told The Ghanaian Times newspaper.

Operation Conquered Fist covers Ghana’s Savannah, Northern, Northeast, Upper East and Upper West regions.

This year’s Operation Eagle Claws exercise focused on responding to terrorist attacks such as those carried out recently in Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire.

“Ghanaians, and particularly those in this sector, know that terrorism is real, it is on our doorsteps,” Col. William Nii Nortey, director of Army operations, told Ghanaian TV channel My Joy. “We should all be ready and know what is happening around us. We must be ready to protect and defend the integrity of Ghana.”

Nortey encouraged area residents to report suspected terrorist activity to authorities.

“That is our basic mantra: If you see something, say something,” he said.

Days before the exercise began, President Nana Akufo-Addo told French news station France 24 that he views increasing terrorist attacks in the neighboring Sahel region as “the most important security challenge” for Ghana and the 14 other countries in the Economic Community of West African States.

“We are very concerned by the situation,” Akufo-Addo said. “We know that in Ghana, this is not something that will just stop at our borders. There are coastal countries, countries in Western Africa, and these countries are also targets of terrorism. They are just as much targets as the Sahel countries. We are following the situation very closely. That is the main challenge for the time being.”

This year, some of Operation Eagle Claws’ first drills were conducted with customs and police officers at Hamile Border Post, where Soldiers practiced tactical skills while responding to a simulated small arms attack near the Burkina Faso border.

In another drill, troops responded to a mock attack on foreigners staying at a hotel in Wa in Northeast Ghana. It included combat techniques, extinguishing fires, mine detection, medical evacuation and profiling arrested terrorists.

Days after Operation Eagle Claws ended, Akufo-Addo unveiled the National Security Strategy, the first such document in Ghana’s history. The strategy aims to promote tolerance and social cohesion, while ensuring peace and developing a prosperous democracy.

“The National Security Strategy also aims to establish Ghana as a land of opportunities, with the resolve and the capability to protect her people, her culture and her values, to spur growth, development and prosperity that inure to the well-being of her people, whilst positioning the country to play a meaningful and influential role at regional, continental and global levels,” Akufo-Addo said in a statement.