Police deny reprisal attacks in Nkonya

Police in the Volta region have denied reports of reprisal attacks said to have been carried out by the people of Alavanyo on the residents of Nkonya.

Public Relations Officer for the Volta Regional Police Command Chief Inspector, Joy Afagbedzi in an interview with Citi News indicated that contrary to media reports, nobody had been shot as a result of reprisal attacks.

A man was reportedly shot on Saturday after the imposition of a curfew on the two towns.

Earlier on Sunday, the chiefs and people of Alavanyo and Nkonya, denounced in a joint statement, further armed skirmishes in the area and pledged re-engagement towards peace to end their nine-decade old land dispute.

The statement came after a consultative forum facilitated by West Africa Network for Peace Building (WANEP) under the auspices of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council and the security agencies.

It urged both sides to exercise restraint and avoid the phenomenon of revenge or ambush attacks, which could further derail the peace process.

The statement recognized the appreciable progress that had been made despite recent reports of killings.

The statement, called on government and other well-meaning stakeholders and institutions to support the process through the provision of an enabling environment and funding to anchor the needed peace.

Meanwhile, a citizen of Nkonya Tayi, Kofi Kumi, is reported to have survived a head injury from gun-shot when unidentified assailants allegedly shot at him on his farm on the outskirts of Nkonya-Tayi at about 1400 hours on Saturday.

Korku Teyi, Chief hunter of Alavanyo, was also shot and killed instantly outside his house at Alavanyo-Kpeme by unidentified gunman last Thursday.

Mediation broke-down between the factions when one side pulled out of the peace process in 2009 to further consult with their compatriots after the land in contention was surveyed and mapped.

The Peace Mediation Committee is jointly chaired by Reverend Dr Livingstone K. Buamah, former Moderator of the E. P. Church, Ghana, and Most Rev Francis K. A. Lodonu, Bishop of Ho Diocese of Catholic Church, established by government in 2004.