Six dead, three injured in renewed clashes at Bawku

Six persons have been killed in a renewed ethnic disturbance in Bawku in the Upper East Region.

Citi News sources gather that five of the deceased were killed by unknown armed men in the early morning of Saturday, December 24, 2022, at Patilm, a settlement of Busangas living in Bawku.

The deceased whose remains have been deposited at the Bawku Presbyterian hospital include; a two-year-old boy, a ten-year-old girl, an old woman and two men in their mid-forties.

Two women and a 12-year-old girl who were also injured during the incident are currently receiving treatment at the Bawku Presby hospital.

A retired teacher, Francis Ayuba, a resident at Daduri, a suburb of Bawku was also killed.

The incident comes a day after the Upper East Regional police commander DCOP Darko Offei Lomotey, paid a working visit to Bawku and appealed to the Kusasis and Mamprusis factions to cease the gunshots and embrace peace.

His visit was also to appeal for calm ahead of the celebration of the Samanpiid festival by the Kusasis on December 30, 2022.

In recent times, there have been sporadic gunshots in Bawku causing fear and panic among residents and slowing down economic activities.

On December 17, 2022, the killing of an old man at Sing-Naatin resulted in intense sporadic gunshots leading to the death of five persons.

On December 18, 2022, two persons also lost their lives through a spillover of sporadic gunshots from the previous day.

On December 20, 2022, the dead bodies of two persons trapped in a house set on by fire at Sangibo were retrieved by the police and handed over for burial.

Various stakeholders including the Upper East Regional peace council have appealed to the two factions to lay down their arms and smoke a peace pipe to end the protracted ethnic disturbances in the area.