Former Member of Parliament for Okaikwei North, Fuseini Issah, has called for intensified efforts to bring an end to the conflict in Bawku.
He called on stakeholders to ensure that the feuding parties are brought together to resolve the issues amicably.
“We should get the factions to agree to be able to put this conflict behind them because it has been raging on for generations. If at one point we are unable to bring it to finality we will continue having people lose their lives
“The people who live in that area, they have to know that there should be some finality,” he said on the Big Issue on TV3 Monday, January 22.
He added “We should show enough commitment. I have never been to Bawku but I hear it is a cosmopolitan area, you have all manner of people in there.”
Former President John Dramani Mahama also called for close collaboration between the military and the Police in providing security at Bawku.
Mr Mahama said he was saddened and disturbed by recent shootings in the Bawku municipality and the killing of three men.
In a statement, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) said “While I recognise that our security services face the difficult task of securing peace in the Bawku area, the military must work hand in hand with the police to provide safety and security in the Bawku municipality and across the nation.
“As a former Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, I urge the military personnel to remember their duty to protect the people and uphold the peace.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims during this difficult time, even as I call upon the people of Bawku to endeavour to promote and consolidate peace to enable the positive development of the municipality of Bawku. Let us all work together to ensure justice is served and peace is restored in Bawku.”
Meanwhile, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has explained the circumstances under which three persons who fired at its troops in Bawku were neutralized.
The GAF said the act of neutralization occurred in retaliation to attack on its troops.
“…at about 2030 hrs on the same day {January 18}, own troops conducting night foot patrols around Hasania School at Sabongari were fired upon by 4 gunmen. Troops returned fire spontaneously neutralising 3 of the assailants. The fourth suspect managed to escape. Troops retrieved one AK-47 rifle loaded with 16 rounds of 7.62 x 39 mm ammunition. Ghana Police team arrived at the location subsequently to convey the deceased assailants to the morgue.”
This was contained in a press release dated January 18, signed by the Director of Public Affairs, Brigadier General E Aggrey-Quashie.
The press release added that, “It is instructive to note that directly engaging the military is a development that could result in fatal consequences, as troops will spare no opportunity to defend themselves as well as protect residents of Bawku. Therefore, factions in the Bawku conflict are cautioned against drawing the military into direct armed confrontation while efforts are undertaken to resolve the current impasse.”
The Ghana Armed Forces is “therefore imploring the support of all peace-loving Ghanaians, especially the good people of Bawku to facilitate the process of bringing lasting peace to the area and also to aid GAF and sister security agencies in de-escalating tension in the interest of peace, security and socioeconomic development of Bawku and the nation in general.”
Bawku has been in the news lately because unknown gunmen earlier fired into a group of people at the community center in the town on Wednesday, January 17, resulting in the death of two persons, while four others were injured.
The Member of Parliament for Bawku Mr Mahama Ayariga described the incident as dastardly and unacceptable.
Mr Ayariga called on law enforcement agencies to act immediately to arrest and deal with the perpetrators.
Commenting on this matter earlier on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 on Thursday, January 18 with Alfred Ocansey, Mr Ayariga said “It is unfortunate that we continue to experience this situation that has caused so many lives to be lost, so many people to be injured and hospitalized and so much property to be lost in Bawku central constituency.
“…those who were killed yesterday, that was dastardly, that was unacceptable and the perpetrators must be searched for by the law enforcement agencies and dealt with.”
Last week the Minister for the Interior, by Executive Instrument, renewed the curfew hours imposed on Bawku Municipality and its environs in the Upper East Region from 8:00 pm to 5:00 am effective Friday, January 12, 2024.
The government called on Chiefs, Elders, Opinion Leaders, Youth and people of the area to exercise restraint in the face of the challenges confronting them as well as to use non-violent means to channel their energies into ensuring peace.
Meanwhile, there is a total ban on all persons in the afore-mentioned communities and their environs from carrying arms, ammunition or any offensive weapon and any persons found with any arms or ammunition will be arrested and prosecuted.