Authorities in Burkina Faso have blocked officials of Ghana’s National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) from accessing Ghanaian refugees displaced by the Gbeniyiri conflict.

The refugees, numbering about 5,621, fled to Kpere in Burkina Faso following the recent disturbances.

A team led by the Savannah Regional Director of NADMO, Mahama Zackaria, had travelled with relief items to support them.

According to Mr Zackaria, the team was stopped and prevented from getting close to the displaced persons.

“We went to Kpere in Burkina Faso, where some of our people ran to, but unfortunately, the Burkinabe authorities didn’t allow us to see the people,” he told JoyNews.

“Yes, we saw them from a distance, but we couldn’t communicate with them or give them the relief items we carried.”

He explained that the Burkinabe officials insisted the Ghana government must formally engage them before any assistance could be delivered.

“They said the Ghana government will have to engage them officially, like they did in the Ivory Coast. Without an official international protocol between the two countries, they would not allow us to engage the people,” Mr Zackaria added.

Faced with this setback, the NADMO team returned to Ghana and redirected the relief items to vulnerable residents in parts of the Bole District.

The distribution has so far covered communities including Saru, Dirbir, Kalba, Gbeniyiri, Nakpala, and Dagbabu.