Tampulma/Gonja conflict: Over 5000 Tampulmas return to horrific spectacle

Tampulmas in the North Gonja District of the Northern Region who fled their homes in the January 13 night attack have started returning.  But they arrived to neither food nor shelter and their homes razed down. “We heard gunshots so we ran out, we saw houses on fire, we got the children and ran with them,” a victim narrated to 3news.com. About 80 houses in the Dissah and Salelgu communities were burnt down in the attack, displacing over 5,000 inhabitants. No single home was spared in the attack. Even three days after the incident, the blaze was yet to be totally doused in some of the torched houses. Harvested farm produce, including maize, peanuts and cowpeas, which had been stored up in barns, have been burnt to ashes. Some women were seen scavenging through the rubble to see if any farm produce have been spared. Lucy, a resident of Dissah, has been horrified by the deadly attack. “We were sleeping at about 10pm when we heard people screaming then suddenly saw our house on fire, we run into the bush with our children”. Safia Ibrahim together with her rival are back with their children to Salelgu but they have no food to eat. They claimed they have to return to the bush to sleep for fear that the attackers could return. “We hear the attackers will come again so we will leave before they come to kill us”. For the returnee children, they can only survive on peanuts, half roasted by the attackers who set fire into them. Two persons, 45-year old John Bukari and 90-year old Adima Kara, from the two communities were found dead after the attack on January 13. Abu Alhassan who hails from Salelgu was also shot five times but he survived. While some have taken refuge in nearby Mankarigu and Zintale, others may have to keep up in the ruins. The residents alleged they were attacked by some Gonjas acting on the orders of the Wasipe-Wura Mumuni Anyame Kasabangye II. But the Wasipe-Wura says he did not sanction the attacks though he admitted sending the alleged attackers to the communities to rescue some of his subjects that were held captive there. Read: Two dead, over 50 houses burnt in attack on two communities By Zubaida Ismail | 3news.com | North Gonja]]>