Govt extends Bawku curfew

Pg 3 (Jan 08/08)

Story: Charles Benoni Okine & Justina Ampadu-Nyarko

THE government has extended the dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed on Bawku for another week because of the volatile situation in the area.
It has, however, reduced the curfew imposed on Zabugu and Garu from 6pm to 6am to 8pm to 5am.
The Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwamena Bartels, yesterday explained that “although calm has been restored to the area, there is still a lot of tension among the people”.
He said intelligence information reaching the state security indicated that there was still a lot of anger and suspicion among the contending factions, which could not be taken for granted.
Mr Bartels noted that while efforts were being made to defuse the tension, the curfew would remain.
Last week, a dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed on Bawku, Zabugu and Garu in the Upper East Region, following communal violence and killing in the towns.
That followed a meeting between the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) and some traditional leaders in the area after a reported case of armed robbery erupted into a bloody ethnic conflict between Mamprusis and Kusasis, the two dominant groups in the towns.
The Interior Minister said some people had resumed work while business activities were fast picking up.
However, Mr Bartels said in spite of the progress in terms of the restoration of calm, there was still the need for a massive security presence to avert any further clashes in the area.
Unconfirmed reports reaching the Daily Graphic put the death toll at 35, but the Interior Minister maintained that real figures made available to the state security was eight.
“They tell us about some deaths but we never find the bodies when we rush there and therefore, we cannot confirm the figures being speculated; What we have is what has been confirmed at the hospitals,” he added.
Mr Bartels said out of the eight dead, seven were from Bawku while the other one was from Garu.
He said 16 people had been injured as per the records at the hospital.
On the number of houses burnt down, he said 75 were completely burnt down while 23 were partially burnt.
Mr Bartels said 15 stores had also been completely burnt down, adding that the number of vehicles burnt was five.
He would not say how much had been expended on the conflict but hinted that “we have spent a lot of money on this conflict and it is likely that the figures will go up”.
Mr Bartels said there were 301 police personnel and 150 soldiers deployed in the area.
He said apart from the ammunition they wielded, they also had two armoured vehicles.
“All these cost money, but it is our country and we have to do everything to ensure that peace is restored to the area,” he added.
Mr Bartels appealed to the factions to use dialogue to resolve their differences and noted that where they disagreed, they could also use legal means instead of fighting.
He said the human resource and the properties lost were of grave concern to the government and urged for a permanent calm.