Two people have been killed in separate attacks by unidentified gunmen in the conflict-prone town of Bawku in the Upper East Region, continuing a wave of violence that has gripped the area in recent months.
The first victim, Moro Aziz, a mentally unstable man from Gozesi, a suburb of Bawku, was found dead at the Bawku cemetery. According to reports, Aziz had wandered towards the cemetery, where he was killed. The circumstances of his death remain unclear, but it adds to the growing number of casualties in the region’s ongoing violence.
The second victim, identified only as Kasim, was shot dead in Daduri, another suburb of Bawku, while attempting to move to a different location. Eyewitnesses said that gunmen targeted him as he moved within the volatile area.
These killings bring the death toll in Bawku to 35 since the conflict reignited in late October 2024. The violence has continued despite the imposition of a dawn-to-dusk curfew in an effort to restore order in the area.
The conflict in Bawku, which began in November 2021 over the installation of a rival chief, briefly subsided in 2023 but flared up again on October 25, 2024. The renewed violence has been linked to the return of Alhaji Seidu Abagre, the rival chief installed by the Nayir, which is said to have triggered the latest round of bloodshed.
Authorities have placed security forces on high alert, but peace remains elusive as the town continues to struggle with instability and violence.
