A devastating chieftaincy clash has erupted in Bawku, Upper East Region, resulting in significant loss of life and escalating tensions. Residents report over 20 lives lost, while official figures stand at 16 deaths, as violence enters its sixth day since Thursday night, October 24, 2024.
The clash stems from the return of a new chief enskinned by one of the factions involved in the protracted conflict, according to reliable sources from the Ghana News Agency. Initially, a High Court had issued a warrant for the new chief’s arrest, deeming the enskinment illegal. However, the court later withdrew the warrant, paving the way for the chief’s return and sparking tension.
The violent clash began with the alleged killing of an 11-year-old girl by one of the factions involved. The incident has also been linked to last Sunday’s attack on the Bolgatanga-Tamale Highway, near Walewale, where unidentified armed gunmen killed eight people and set vehicles ablaze.
Public facilities, including schools and healthcare facilities, remain closed, hindering access to essential services. Economic activities have come to a standstill, with markets, shops, and public gathering places deserted. Many residents, including social workers, have fled the town seeking refuge elsewhere.
On Monday morning, some youth locked up the offices of the Bawku Municipal Assembly with an ultimatum to the government to resolve the issue within 24 hours and threatened to burn down the building should the government fail to act on their demands.
Women in Bawku took to the streets on Tuesday morning, burning tyres to register their displeasure over what they described as a “lack of commitment from major stakeholders to resolve the longstanding conflict.”
“Our husbands, children and the future are being killed every day. We are suffering, we cannot go to our farms, our children cannot go to school and our pregnant women cannot access the health facilities. We are tired, we cannot continue like this,” some of the aggrieved women lamented.
An eyewitness told the Ghana News Agency, “I can tell you that more than 50 people have died since Thursday and killing is continuing.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Hamza Amadu, the Bawku Municipal Chief Executive declined to comment on the issue when contacted by the Ghana News Agency.
Apart from deploying more security personnel to the area, the government, through the Ministry of the Interior has imposed a curfew on the Bawku Township and its environs as part of measures to bring the situation under control.
Unconfirmed data revealed that more than 200 lives have been lost since the conflict resurfaced in November 2021.
