ONE KILLED IN BAWKU (Monday, June 1,2009. PAGE 3)

ONE person was reported to have been shot dead in Bawku yesterday triggering another bout of sporadic shooting in the town.
The deceased, identified as Sulemana Ibrahim, aged between 30 and 35 is alleged to have been shot several times in the chest and hands.
Following the incident, residents have deserted the streets and people have gone indoors.
The Upper East Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Hamidu Mahama told the Daily Graphic on phone that some arrests have been made and the military and police have intensified their patrols to halt the firing.
Last Friday, barely 24 hours after President John Evans Atta Mills had met with opinion leaders from both sides in the Bawku conflict, sporadic gunshots were heard at Bawku at about 11 p.m on and continued into the early hours of Saturday, May 30, 2009.
It was not clear what might have precipitated the shooting incident, but a number of people interviewed on the streets of Bawku at the time said the incident was either a jubilation or protest to the alleged granting of bail to some persons connected to an arson incident that occurred in the area in January, this year.
Upon a visit to Bawku on Saturday, which was also a market day, this reporter found that calm had been restored but the briskness associated with trading activities at the market was absent.
The Upper East Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, condemned the incident and dismissed the assertion that the latest incident was a renewal of the ethnic clashes between the feuding factions.
He said once the sporadic shooting incident started, the joint military and police team on operational duties were deployed to quell the action, adding that so far no arrest had been made while no casualty had been reported.
According to DCOP Mahama, calm had been restored to the area and the joint military and police personnel had intensified their patrols in the area.
He said the security agencies, especially the police, had the mandate of the newly appointed Inspector General of Police to deal ruthlessly with anyone who perpetrated crime in the area and warned the people to refrain from lawless acts.
The Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, also condemned the shooting incident.
He said it was the expectation of all that with the intervention of the President during his two-day visit to the region and having met all the opinion leaders of Bawku, it was about time the people gave peace a chance.
He reiterated the fact that the most important ingredient for development was peace and appealed to the people of Bawku to abide by the peace process initiated to help bring permanent peace to the area.