Story: Hamza Mohammed

The National Peace Council has urged the two feuding factions in the Bawku ethnic dispute to commit to restoring longstanding peace in the area.

It particularly mentioned the Kusasis to rescind their decision to withdraw from the Inter-Ethnic Peace Committee (BIEPC) in the wake of the ongoing conflict between the Mamprusis and Kusasis in the area.

The Kusasis withdrew from the committee because all efforts to get a solution to the conflict in Bawku have proven futile.

The committee was charged with the responsibility to open up constructive and open dialogue among all people of Bawku.

In a statement, the Council noted that it will collaborate with Regional Security Council (REGSEC) to resolve the issue.

“The National Peace Council and our partners will continue to work closely with the REGSECs to explore opportunities for dialogue as soon as practicable and hereby appeals to both the Mamprusis and the Kusasis on the Inter-Ethnic Peace Committee to make the mechanism work for the restoration of peace in Bawku. It’s in this spirit that the Council appeals to the Kusasis to reconsider their decision to withdraw from the Inter-Ethnic Peace Committee (BIEPC) and return to the forum for dialogue to resume.”

There has been no peace in the area leading to the killing of dozens of people in Bawku following renewed clashes between the two sides.

The statement issued by the Council as its end-of-year message said, it is “disturbed by recent happenings, particularly, chieftaincy disputes in some parts of the country in the last few days, that have the potential to derail the gains of peace and stability of the country.”

Earlier this week, six persons were killed in a renewed ethnic disturbance in Bawku.

According to our  sources 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 by unknown gunmen bringing the total number of deaths to six.

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.