Tension is said to be mounting in Grand Gedeh County between two groups of Burkinabé over farmlands, causing fear among the locals.
Reports reaching the Daily Observer suggest that on August 12, 2025, a Burkinabé named Noufou, along with 15 of his kinsmen, was picked up by officers of the Liberia National Police in the Gboryeazon Forest in B’hai Administrative District for unlawful behavior.
According to Grand Gedeh’s popular social platform, ‘Grand Gedeh Palaver Hut’, the men were arrested after fighting broke out between them and another group of Burkinabé, headed by Ali Kabore. Both groups are fighting for farmland within the district.
The Daily Observer also established that the clashes caused property damage and left three people seriously injured and seeking treatment at the local clinic in Toe Town, while others were taken to Côte d’Ivoire for treatment.
The ringleader of the recent incident, identified as one Noufou, was described by residents as being very hostile and illegally encroaching on other farmland.
The Grand Gedeh Detachment of the LNP, headed by ACP Moses Gberyan, confirmed the incident, saying, Noufou was arrested and sent to court for aggravated Assault and Criminal Attempt to Commit Murder and was bailed by the court.
He explained that one of Noufou’s men assaulted Ali Kabore with cutlasses and escaped to the Ivory Coast and it was because of that Noufou was arrested and sent to court.
ACP Gbaryan described the situation as tense in the B’hai and Gbarzon District, where the Burkinabés are heavily based and farming.
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He explained the two groups of Burkinabés are farming on farmlands belonging to separate family members, who separately brought in those Burkinabés but got into conflict over demarcation of the farmland.
“We have repeatedly informed the Land Authority to try and settle the land conflict by survey, because most of the farmland they are arguing over is not demarcated,” said Commander Gbaryan.
“In the absence of logistics in these areas, we are forced to respond to the tension, something we want the local authority to settle, because they were the ones who brought in those people,” he said.
However, with the continued conflict in those areas of Goryeazon, Nicko and Poker are calling on the county leadership to send the Burkinabés back to their homeland.
“We are tired of them; their activities are illegal,” said one Jefferson, who called from Toe Town.
The Burkinabé situation in Grand Gedeh was recently described by Solicitor General Cllr. Augustine Fayia in Ganta as a ‘National Security Concern,’ urging the county attorneys to get involved to avoid further conflict.
