Sporadic Violence In Bawku Despite Peace Talks

Two houses, a shop and two vehicles were on Monday burnt in Bakwu in the Upper East Region while gunshots were heard in some parts of the Municipality. The situation created panic and led to rioting that forced people to seek refuge in their homes. Unknown assailants also beat up a young man. Speaking in an interview with the (GNA in Bawku, Chief Superintendent of Police, Peter King Gyinae said one of the vehicles travelled from Bawku to Binaba in the Bawku West District, and upon its return, unknown persons suspected to be Kusasis set fire to it because they thought it belonged to a Mamprusi man. When some young Mamprusi men heard about the incident they also went and burnt a pickup vehicle belonging to one Dr Asaana, a Kusasi man. He said it caused some agitation among the people and the security personnel had to fire warning shots to disperse the people. Meanwhile, following the communiqué passed by the various ethnic groups in Bawku to bring peace to the area, appeals in the various dialects are being broadcast over the local radio everyday for calm and asking the people to work together to bring Bawku to normalcy. Due to the violence that broke out on December 31 2007, some hospital staffs and bank workers, afraid for their lives, do not go to work. The communiqué, which was passed last week, said lawlessness was also creeping into the area as people seized other's goods and motorbikes and sometimes burnt houses, shops and vehicles. The daily radio broadcasts seek to address these issues. Chief Superintendent Gyinae said the curfew hours, from 1700 hours to 0600 hours were strictly adhered to and the security personnel were doing their best to enforce the peace.