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Ghana: Exploring a Lasting Solution to Bawku Conflict
AFTER SEVERAL attempts by successive governments, the security agencies, religious bodies, the National Peace Council, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to find a lasting solution to the almost fifty-year-old conflict in Bawku have failed, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mark Woyongo, has hinted that he is considering seeking the assistance of the Eminent Chiefs.
The Regional Minister, who gave the hint in an interview with The Chronicle, mentioned the Dagbon Chief, Asantehene and Yegbonwura, as the chiefs he was intending to consult and seek their wise counsel to facilitate the road map to peace.
Mr. Woyongo was answering questions posed by this correspondent on possible ways of bringing lasting peace to Bawku, following renewed violence that led to the death of five persons last Sunday.
He regretted that the latest incident was a serious setback to the government's efforts at finding a solution to the crisis that had been generating frequently, since it resumed on December 31, 2007.
"I thought we had gone pass that level, but what happened last Sunday, is a big source of worry to our efforts in searching for lasting peace," Mr. Woyongo stated.
Last Sunday's killing was linked to an armed robbery incident, in which a roadblock was mounted on the Bawku road to Sankasi in Northern Togo.
Traders on board the taxi were robbed of their monies and other items, while the taxi driver, Rufia Sumani, was shot and killed around Zuzongnatinga.
Other persons were later killed after the news of the taxi driver's death reached Bawku.
Sources in Bawku told this paper that the residents were not happy with the current curfew hours - from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
According to them, a stiffer curfew hour was not the solution to the crisis, but deployment of adequate security, especially to the outskirts where people were being targeted and ambushed.
Some of the residents argued that the killing of the taxi driver did not have any connection with the conflict, but that the late driver was targetted by his assailants.
Others also blamed the security personnel on the ground for taking sides, as they claimed that some of the security officers either belonged to one of the feuding factions (Kussasi and Mamprusi) or the other.
Speaking in a telephone interview with this paper, the Interior Minister and Member of Parliament (MP) for Zebilla Constituency, Mr. Cletus Avoka, said though calm had been restored to the area, the security personnel were still on high alert, to ensure that the situation did not escalate.
Mr. Avoka, who had been in the Upper East Region for the past five days, told this paper that he had no intention of visiting Bawku, but was holding a series of meetings with the Regional Security Council to find a solution to the crisis.
The security agencies were being economical with the number of deaths recorded, as some put the number at 15, and others 16.
The Deputy Upper East Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) George Tuffour, who was in Bawku on Sunday to assess the situation, admitted that the sporadic shootings in the area were confounding the security personnel.
He however said there was uneasy calm, and that the police were taking drastic measures to avoid any retaliation by the feuding factions.
Source: All Africa.com
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