One Ghanaian Injured In Egypt - Ambassador

At least one Ghanaian is said to have been injured in the ongoing demonstrations in Egypt to oust the President of that country. Ghana’s Ambassador to Egypt, His Excellency Amidu Sulemana disclosed this to Citi News in an exclusive interview on Wednesday February 1. There is pressure on the Ghanaian government to evacuate her nationals in Egypt since many countries including the USA and Turkey have begun evacuating their citizens as pressure mounts on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down immediately. The protests escalated on Wednesday as Pro-Mubarak supporters clashed with demonstrators led by opposition parties. The Ghana Government has indicated that it will only move to secure its citizens when the need arises although some Ghanaians have pleaded with the Government to move in quickly to protect their relatives. According to Government spokespersons, intelligence gathered so far indicates that Ghanaian nationals are safe. Ghana’s Ambassador to Egypt, His Excellency Amidu Sulemana has also told Citi News that for now foreigners are not the targets of the demonstrators and that Ghanaians alike are safe. “So far we are in touch with our community leaders and we have advised all our people to as much as possible stay indoors. The Embassy is in contact with the Leadership of the Ghanaian community members and they are supposed to report to us anything that happens. We have their phone numbers and I do talk to them constantly to find out what is happening. I think so far there isn’t any serious talk about any harm to Ghanaians to the best of my knowledge". “But I called one of the Ghanaian young men (yesterday) who told me that one of our compatriots a lady got some burns when fire bombs were thrown into the home of an Egyptian family where she works. She is at the Hospital. So far that is the only sad development but apart from that, I haven’t heard of any attack on Ghanaians" he said. The Ambassador could however not tell whether the victim’s condition was critical or not. Mr. Amidu Sulemana said the Mission was yet to visit the victim. Although the Ambassador admits the situation is escalating with the closure of banks and other businesses which could force Ghanaian nationals out of their homes and put their lives in danger, the mission has not taken a definite decision on evacuation. He said the mission is in constant touch with Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will decide what to do when the need arises.