Western Togoland Restoration Front | |
---|---|
Front de restauration du Togoland de l'Ouest | |
Leaders | Togbe Yesu Kwabla Edudzi I Akplaga Sogbolisa Akplaga Seyram Matts |
Dates of operation | c. 2019 – present |
Ideology | Ewe nationalism Separatism |
Size | c. 500–6,700 |
Opponents | Ghana |
Western Togoland Restoration Front (French : Front de restauration du Togoland de l'Ouest; abbreviated WTRF or FRTO) is a Ewe political, militant, nationalist and a separatist organization that advocates for an independent state of Western Togoland and possibly the Ewe ethnic parts of the Volta Region from Ghana.
While it is unknown who created the group or even when it started, the first signs of active by the WTRF was back in December 2019 when a Facebook account by the name of Akplaga Seyram Matts started making pro-Western Togoland post including claiming that 2,000 Western Togoland military men and women passed from a guerrilla military school on 14 December. [1]
On 17 February 2020, the 66 Artillery Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) rounded up 21 people suspected of being separatist from a secret training camp at Kpevedui, near Feivu. Originally there 25 but some of them escaped. Many of those rounded up claimed that they were tricked into coming to the camp by people dressed up as army a recruiter. [2] At the time it was thought the Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF) was behind it but the HSGF has denied claims that it has a militia or is training anybody. [3]
On 1 September the WTRF declared the sovereignty of Western Togoland. [4]
On 25 September the WTRF seized control of an armoury and then proceeded to blockade various roads leading into Ghana's Volta Region. Aveyime and Mepe police stations were also attacked, freeing inmates as well as seizing weapons of the police, shooting and injuring the Divisional Police Commander, the seizure of Police pick-up vehicles amid the firing of gunshots. The rebels made off with at least 15 AK47 and four pump action guns at Aveyime Police station. Two more weapons were taken at Mepe Police Station. They also disarmed the reinforcement team, taking their weapons including the Police Commander's pistol. [4] [5] [6] In response to the attacks on the police stations a joint Military-Police Team, in conjunction with other security agencies deployed to the affected areas and succeeded in apprehending 31 members of the WTRF. Later that day fire exchanged between the WTRF and security agencies led to the death of one member of the WTRF and the injury to three others. [7]
On 29 September the WTRF attacked a bus yard belonging to the State Transport Corporation in the city of Ho and set ablaze a bus and slightly burnt another. [8] Later one civilian was killed in an exchange of fire between the separatists and government forces. [9]
After 29 September blockades were still set up and at least 82 people were arrested for being suspected WTRF members. The WTRF has also claimed to have 4,300 military men being trained in a nearby country. According to them, those troops will invade Western Togoland on 3 November[ clarification needed ] and join up with the guerrilla troops. [10]
The history of Togo can be traced to archaeological finds which indicate that ancient local tribes were able to produce pottery and process tin. During the period from the 11th century to the 16th century, the Ewé, the Mina, the Gun, and various other tribes entered the region. Most of them settled in coastal areas. The Portuguese arrived in the late 15th century, followed by other European powers. Until the 19th century, the coastal region was a major slave trade centre, earning Togo and the surrounding region the name "The Slave Coast".
British Togoland, officially the Mandate Territory of Togoland and later officially the Trust Territory of Togoland, was a territory in West Africa under the administration of the United Kingdom, which subsequently entered a union with Ghana, part of which became its Volta Region. The territory was effectively formed in 1916 by the splitting of the German protectorate of Togoland into two territories, French Togoland and British Togoland, during the First World War. Initially, it was a League of Nations Class B mandate. In 1922, British Togoland was formally placed under British rule, and French Togoland, now Togo, was placed under French rule.
The regions of Ghana are the first level of subnational government administration within the Republic of Ghana. As of 2020, there are 16 regions, which are further divided for administrative purposes into 260 local metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies.
Ho is the capital of the Ho Municipal District and the Volta Region of Ghana. The city lies between Mount Adaklu and Mount Galenukui or Togo Atakora Range, and is home to the Volta Regional Museum, a cathedral, and a prison. The city is the capital of unrecognised Western Togoland. It was formerly the administrative capital of British Togoland now part of the Volta Region. The population of Ho Municipality according to the 2010 Population and Housing Census is 177,281 representing 8.4 percent of the region's total population. Females constitute 52.7 percent and males represent 47.3 percent. The population in Ho grew up to 180,420 National Population Census. About 62 percent of the population resides in urban localities. The Municipality shares boundaries with Adaklu and Agotime-Ziope Districts to the South, Ho West District to the North and West and the Republic of Togo to the East. Its total land area is 2,361 square kilometers thus representing 11.5 percent of the region's total land area.
The Ewe people are a Gbe-speaking ethnic group. The largest population of Ewe people is in Ghana, and the second largest population is in Togo. They speak the Ewe language which belongs to the Gbe family of languages. They are related to other speakers of Gbe languages such as the Fon, Gen, Phla/Phera, Ogu/Gun, Maxi (Mahi), and the Aja people of Togo and Benin.
Volta Region is one of Ghana's sixteen administrative regions, with Ho designated as its capital. It is located west of Republic of Togo and to the east of Lake Volta. Divided into 25 administrative districts, the region is multi-ethnic and multilingual, including groups such as the Ewe, the Guan, and the Akan peoples. The Guan peoples include the Lolobi, Likpe, Akpafu, Akyode, Buem, Nyagbo, Avatime, and Nkonya. This region was carved out of the Volta Region in December 2018 by the New Patriotic Party. The people of the Volta Region are popularly known as Voltarians (French: Voltaiens.This group includes the Ewes, Guans and other minor tribes living in the Volta Region. The people of the Volta Region are popular known for their rich cultural display and music some of which include Agbadza, Borborbor and Zigi.
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in Ghana. It is popularly referred to as the "EP Church". It has strong roots in the Evangelical and Reformed traditions. The denomination's Presbyterian sister church is the Presbyterian Church of Ghana.
The strains in Ghana–Togo relations stretch back to pre-independence days.
The Agave are an ethnic group of Ghana, belonging to the Ewe people. They are mainly in the west of the Volta River and north of the Songhor Lagoon.
Seth Senyo Agidi (1955–2020) was the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana until his death in October 2020.
The Anglophone Crisis, also known as the Ambazonia War, is an ongoing armed conflict in the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon, between the Cameroonian government and Ambazonian separatist groups, part of the long-standing Anglophone problem. Following the suppression of 2016–17 protests by Cameroonian authorities, separatists in the Anglophone regions launched a guerrilla campaign and later proclaimed independence. Within two months, the government of Cameroon declared war on the separatists and sent its army into the Anglophone regions.
Western Togoland is a self-proclaimed state which is considered by the international community to be part of Ghana. It claims five of the Volta and Oti Regions. On 25 September 2020 separatists in Western Togoland declared independence from the Republic of Ghana. Western Togoland has been a member state of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) since 2017.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon during 2017.
The Ewe Unification Movement was a series of west African ethno-nationalist efforts which sought the unification of the Ewe peoples spread across what are now modern Ghana and Togo. It emerged as a direct political goal around 1945 under the colonial mandate of French Togoland, however the ideal of unifying the group has been an identifiable sentiment present amongst the ethnicity's leadership and wider population ever since their initial colonial partitions by the British and German Empires from 1874 to 1884. While there have been many efforts to bring about unification, none have ultimately been successful due to both the platform itself often being a secondary concern for political leadership, or inter/intrastate conflicts overshadowing them.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon during 2020.
The Volta Regional Minister is the Ghana government official who is responsible for overseeing the administration of the Volta Region of Ghana. The boundaries of the Volta Region have changed at various times in Ghana's history. Following the December 2018 referendums, the region has been divided into two with the northern part becoming the Oti Region and the southern part remaining as the Volta Region. There are currently sixteen administrative regions in Ghana.
Sasadu Festival is an annual festival celebrated by the chiefs and people of the Sasadu communities Alavanyo, Akrofu, Saviefe and Sovie. It is located in the Hohoe Municipality in the Volta Region of Ghana. It is usually celebrated in the month of October on rotational basis. SASADU is an acronym for Sovie, Alavanyo, Saviefe, Akrofu Development Union which marks the symbol of unity and peace among the four communities.
The Western Togoland Rebellion is an ongoing separatist revolt led by the Ewe nationalist organization Western Togoland Restoration Front (WTRF) against the government of Ghana. The group seeks the independence of former British Togoland.
The insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria is a military conflict that broke out in the city of Orlu, Imo State, Nigeria on 16 January 2021, when the Nigerian Army moved to crush the paramilitary wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the Eastern Security Network (ESN). The conflict escalated after the ESN managed to repulse the initial push by the Nigerian Army, but IPOB ended the initial crisis by unilaterally withdrawing the ESN from Orlu. After a few weeks of quiet, Nigeria launched a military offensive in the area to destroy the ESN. On 19 February 2021, IPOB declared that as of the day before, a state of war existed between Nigeria and Biafra. Three weeks later, another separatist group declared the formation of a Biafran interim government which was subsequently endorsed by IPOB. Since then, the Biafran separatists have begun to form alliances with other separatist groups in Nigeria and Cameroon. Despite these developments, the separatists claimed that their militant operations were mainly aimed at defending local communities from armed herders and bandits instead of fighting the Nigerian government. In late June, IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu was arrested by Interpol and handed over to Nigerian authorities.