President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC), Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, has expressed deep concern over the resurgence of chieftaincy and ethnic conflicts across the country, warning that the continued instability poses a serious threat to national cohesion and development.

Speaking at the 2025 Plenary Assembly of the Conference in Damongo on Monday, November 10, 2025, Most Rev. Gyamfi lamented that protracted conflicts, especially in northern Ghana, continue to undermine peace and disrupt livelihoods.

“Persistent chieftaincy and ethnic conflicts continue to disturb the peace of several regions. The Bawku crisis remains among the most protracted and devastating, claiming between 200 and 300 lives since renewed hostilities in late 2021,” he said.

He noted that essential social services in the conflict-prone areas have been crippled by recurring violence.

“Schools, hospitals, and markets have repeatedly closed, paralysing social and economic life. Beyond Bawku, flashpoints such as Yendi, Bimbilla, Nkonya–Alavanyo, and Doba–Kandiga have experienced recurring violence,” he added.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference President further highlighted the humanitarian toll of these conflicts, including internal displacements and cross-border refugee inflows.

“The humanitarian consequences are grave—internal displacements, broken families, and cross-border refugee inflows. Since 2022, more than 15,000 asylum seekers from Burkina Faso have entered northern Ghana, fleeing terrorist attacks in the Sahel. Our local communities, despite poverty, have shown heroic generosity with little external support,” he stated.

Most Rev. Gyamfi underscored that sustainable peace requires both justice and compassion, urging government, traditional authorities, and religious leaders to work together to resolve the root causes of these conflicts.

“These realities remind us that peace cannot exist without justice, and security cannot endure without compassion,” he stressed.