U.S. museum returns artifacts to Ghana after 150 years

ACCRA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. museum has returned seven pieces of artifacts looted from Ghana by British forces almost 150 years ago.

It was a historic moment in Kumasi, Ghana's second-largest city, on Thursday when officials of the Fowler Museum in Los Angeles returned some of the artifacts taken away from the Asante Kingdom in Ghana during a war between British troops and locals in 1874.

The items, which included seven pieces of gold artifacts, ornaments, jewelry, talismans, chairs, and other treasures, were taken as booty during the war and transferred to the museum in the 1960s.

Receiving the items, Asante King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II said the return of the items marked a milestone and would strengthen the bond of unity and strength of the kingdom.

The king added that he was anxiously expecting the return of the other artifacts from the British Museum.

As part of reparations for the trans-Atlantic slave trade and colonization, African countries have been in recent years demanding the return of artifacts taken away forcefully by other countries.