5 MORE KILLED IN BAWKU CONFLICT (PAGE 3)

THE intermittent Bawku conflict continues to take a toll on the people.
Yesterday, five people, including two officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), died in the municipality in a shooting incident over alleged extortion of money by some armed residents.
The bodies of the dead, all males, have been deposited at the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital for autopsy and further investigations.
They are Adam Kobila, 48, and Mohammed Abubakari, 46, both officials of NADMO at Garu, Rufai Sumani, a taxi driver, and Mamudu Yakubu. The identity of the fifth person is yet to be established by the police.
At the time of filing this report no arrest had been made.
The shooting incident occurred yesterday morning, when the taxi driver, Sumani, was shot and killed at Zong-Natinga, 18 kilometres from Bawku, when he was driving passengers to Cinkanse, a market centre in neighbouring Togo.
According to the Municipal Chief Executive of Bawku, Mr Musah Abdulai, information reaching him indicated that some armed men mounted a roadblock on the road yesterday to allegedly extort money from passengers.
He said when the taxi driver got to the roadblock he declined to stop, a situation which prompted the armed men to open fire.
In the process, he said, the taxi driver, who was shot, died later after managing to drive the vehicle into a nearby bush.
The MCE said the assailants went further to attack the passengers and took away some valuables, including money.
He said shortly after the incident, some gunshots were heard in the town, leading to the additional deaths.
The police in Bawku confirmed the incident and the death toll.
Meanwhile, the Upper East Regional Security Council has imposed a curfew from 1 p.m. to 6 a.m. in an effort to bring the situation under control.