Three people died and 16 others were injured when violence erupted at Bawku in the Upper Region last Thursday. A source at the Police Headquarters in Acera, which disclosed this said a number of buildings including that of Madam Hawa Yakubu, the NPP parliamentary candidate for Bawku Central, were set on fire. According to the source, the violence may be linked to the result of last Thursday's parliamentary election in the constituency.
It said security personnel have been despatched from Tamale to restore peace in the town. The Medical SBAWKU, Ghana, December 09 -- Three people died and 16 others were injured when violence erupted at Bawku in the Upper Region last Thursday. A source at the Police Headquarters in Acera, which disclosed this said a number of buildings including that of Madam Hawa Yakubu, the NPP parliamentary candidate for Bawku Central, were set on fire. According to the source, the violence may be linked to the result of last Thursday's parliamentary election in the constituency.
It said security personnel have been despatched from Tamale to restore peace in the town. The Medical Superintendent of the Bawku Hospital, Dr. Debrah, who called the Graphic on telephone from Bawku said the township was in total confusion.
He said the community has been on fire since yesterday morning with sporadic gunshots being fired. According to Dr. Debrah, people are so scared that most of them have been trapped in their homes. He said although there was no immediate cause of the violence, it could be linked to the results of the elections. Meanwhile, the Upper East Regional Security Council(REGSEC) has imposed a dusk to dawn curfew on the Bawku town-ship and its surrounding communities, reports Akwasi Ampratwum Mensah.
Police and army reinforcement has been dispatched to the area to ensure that the situation is brought under control. According to a release signed by the Regional Minister, Mr David Osei Wusu who is also chairman of the REGSEC, anybody found loitering within the curfew hours will bedealt with severely. The release said the tense situation was occasioned by a delay in announcing the election results of the constituency by officials of the Electoral Commission (EC).
It said, the situation resulted inirate supporters of both the incumbent Member of Parliament and the NPP parliamentary candidate trooping to the Bawku Community Centre where the results were being collated. The release said security agencies on duty were compelled to fire warning shots to disperse the crowd which had surged forward to force the now taken an ethnic dimension involving Mamprusis and Kusasis with each faction firing sophisticated weapons indiscriminately.
uperintendent of the Bawku Hospital, Dr. Debrah, who called the Graphic on telephone from Bawku said the township was in total confusion. He said the community has been on fire since yesterday morning with sporadic gunshots being fired. According to Dr. Debrah, people are so scared that most of them have been trapped in their homes.
He said although there was no immediate cause of the violence, it could be linked to the results of the elections. Meanwhile, the Upper East Regional Security Council(REGSEC) has imposed a dusk to dawn curfew on the Bawku town-ship and its surrounding communities, reports Akwasi Ampratwum Mensah. Police and army reinforcement has been dispatched to the area to ensure that the situation is brought under control.
According to a release signed by the Regional Minister, Mr David Osei Wusu who is also chairman of the REGSEC, anybody found loitering within the curfew hours will bedealt with severely. The release said the tense situation was occasioned by a delay in announcing the election results of the constituency by officials of the Electoral Commission (EC).
It said, the situation resulted inirate supporters of both the incumbent Member of Parliament and the NPP parliamentary candidate trooping to the Bawku Community Centre where the results were being collated. The release said security agencies on duty were compelled to fire warning shots to disperse the crowd which had surged forward to force the now taken an ethnic dimension involving Mamprusis and Kusasis with each faction firing sophisticated weapons indiscriminately.
