10 KILLED IN RENEWED FIGHTING IN BAWKU (PAGE 3)

Ten people were killed over the weekend in the latest outbreak of fighting in Bawku.
Seven others were also reported injured following the renewed attacks. They have since been transferred to the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital for treatment
Information made available to the Daily Graphic said last Saturday, one Zackaria Abagre, a Mamprusi, was allegedly stoned to death around Buabula, a suburb of Bawku. Abagre was said to have gone out to search for a missing horse.
According to police sources, later in the night, a group of unidentified people who were allegedly dressed in attire similar to military uniforms stormed the village in what was believed to be vengeance for the killing of Abagre.
The perpetrators were said to have entered some of the houses and murdered the inhabitants, mostly elderly women and children. The males were said to have fled their houses.
Police sources also disclosed that some of the injured were on admission at the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital.
Meanwhile, in order to forestall further bloodshed in the municipality, the Bawku Municipal Security Council on Sunday ordered that everybody should remain indoors.
A van with a public address system was deployed to the town to convey the message to the populace.
In a telephone interview with the Daily Graphic, the Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Abdulai Abanga, who confirmed the death toll, said the decision to keep people indoors on Sunday was taken to forestall any trouble. At the time of filing this report, the restriction on movement in Bawku was still in force.
Already a dusk-to-dawn curfew is in force in Bawku and its environs following the outbreak of conflict in the area since December 31, 2007.
The MCE expressed regret at the latest development, especially at a time when the government was making every effort to ensure that there was peace in Bawku and its environs.
For his part, the Officer Commanding the Airborne Force in Bawku, Major Orlando Agbebo, said they received a distress call and moved in to rescue Abagre, adding that on arrival at the spot, they found Abagre dead so they conveyed his body to the police station for the necessary procedures to be carried out. Later, the body was released to his family for burial.
According to him, not too long after, another message was received that a group of people had attacked the Buabula community, broken into some houses and killed a number of people.
The latest development is being viewed in certain circles as a stab in the back of the National Peace Council, which has initiated a process to find lasting and peaceful solution to the Bawku crisis.
Members of the council, led by its Chairman, His Eminence Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson, travelled to Bawku at the invitation of the President about a month ago to meet with the Bawku Naba, Asigri Abugrago Azoka II and opinion leaders of the Mamprusis to assess the situation on the ground and discuss ways of resolving the conflict.
The delegation also met with the Overload of Mamprugu, Naa Bohagu Mahami Abdulai, to seek his counsel to enable them to carry out their work for peace to return to the Bawku municipality.
Following that move, Naa Mahami Abdulai and Asigri Azoka held separate press conferences calling on the inhabitants to exercise restraint and promote peace in the area.