Government re-imposes curfew at Bawku

Government on Monday re-imposed the curfew on the Bawku Municipality but lifted it on Zabugu and Garu townships in the Upper East Region following recommendations from the Regional Security Council (REGSEC). A statement issued in Accra and signed by Mr Kwamena Bartels, Minister of the Interior said: " The curfew is still from dusk to dawn (0600am to 0600pm)". The statement said the curfew was re-imposed following attacks on some people and the burning of some more houses and motorcycles in the Mamprusi section of Bawku. "All of which confirm that the calm and peace was still fragile with tension and suspicions still prevailing in the Bawku Municipality. There is, therefore, the need for the area to be monitored closely so as to consolidate the peace", it said. The statement said the military detachment in Bawku was being reinforced and that the ban on all persons in the Bawku Municipal area, Zabugu and Garu townships and their environs from carrying arms and ammunition or any offensive weapon was still in force. The Ministry of the Interior on January 7, 2008 re-viewed the curfew imposed on the Bawku Municipal, Zabugu and Garu townships and environs following the eruption of communal violence. Eight people were confirmed dead - seven from Bawku and one from Garu - while 16 people were confirmed injured with 104 houses and stores completely burnt down and 23 houses partially burnt. Five vehicles were also burnt.