.JPG)
Four persons died and more than 346 houses burnt in eight communities during the recent intra-ethnic conflict in the Bunkpurugu/ Yunyoo District.
Over 3,768 people have still been displaced from their homes due to the violence.
Two grinding mills were completely burnt down and the palaces of two chiefs razed to the ground completely. Several quantities of foodstuffs and animals were also stolen in the affected communities and those displaced have sought refuge in Togo or nearby communities.
The perpetrators of the attacks torch the thatch houses deep in the night and later return to pull the mud structures down. The arsonists also perforate the zinc roofs and later burn the houses down.
This was disclosed when a delegation from the Catholic Diocese of Navrongo-Bolgatanga toured the affected conflict communities in the Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District to assess the extent of damage.
A breakdown of the houses burnt are Kambatiak, 52; Gbingbamon, 70; Nasiabuk Number 1, 43; Nasiabuk Number 2, 51, and Gbadauk, 45. The rest are: Tobong Naakuk, 22; Tobong Bufuk, 36; and Gbankoni, 27.
The team, which was dispatched by the Diocesan Administrator, Very Reverend Monsignor Thomas Anamooh, to the conflict area, was led by Mr Joseph Ayembilla, the acting Development Coordinator.
Others were the Parish Priest, Reverend Father Kevin Rand; Rev. Fr. Yosef Giday, Mr Rusmond Annyinah, Diocesan Peace Coordinator, and Mr Lawrence Kwotuah, the Bunkpurugu Parish Peace-building Committee Chairman.
The Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese is in the Upper East Region, but its jurisdiction extends beyond the political administration to include the West and East Mamprusi and Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo districts in the Northern Region.
The first violence occurred on March 18, 2010. Kambatiak and its surrounding communities are inhabited by Bimobas, but the conflict occurred between two clans - the Nandog and Nakuk. The March 18 clash was followed by a reprisal attack on Saturday, March 20, 2010 by the Nandog clan. The renewed violence occurred on Tuesday, April 21, 2010; the third within two months.
A land dispute is believed to be the main cause of the violence.
According to the community members, the violence started when on March 18, 2010, a member of one of the communities, Tubong, tried to extend a grinding mill structure to a land that the District Security Council (DISEC) had placed restrictions on. He was allegedly attacked by the other community and his grinding mill and nearby house set ablaze by the other community, Gbankoni.
At Gbadoo, one of the communities visited on Monday, members of the community told the team that the people were nearly attacked by another group that very day of the visit but for the timely intervention of the police who averted the clash.
The police confirmed the allegation and said three people had been arrested that same day and were being investigated in connection with Monday’s attack.
They told the delegation that they faced some challenges including inadequate rations. They also lamented that their only operational vehicle, a double-cabin pick-up, had a weak battery and personnel occasionally had to push it to get it started.
It also came to light that the security personnel were inadequate and could not thwart any reprisal attacks by any of the communities. This is because the communities are scattered.
In an interview, some of the victims cited some challenges they faced as lack of food, since their entire stock of foodstuffs was burnt in the violence; lack of accommodation, seeds and continued threats from other affected communities
The people called on the church and the government to initiate dialogues among the various communities in order to resolve the conflict.
They further stressed the need for all the political leaders and chiefs from the communities to meet, discuss the cause of the conflict and how to resolve it once and for all.
A teacher in the Gbadao community, Mr Godwin Duak, called on the MP of the area, Mr Emmanuel Kwame Duut, to initiate a dialogue between the affected communities.
The people further appealed to the Catholic Church to support them with relief items, since most people now slept in the open, and seeds as the farming season approached.
Currently, most of the people have no shelter or food. Women and children are the most vulnerable and helpless in the area.
The acting Diocesan Development Coordinator, Joseph Ayembilla, on behalf of the Diocesan Administrator, Very Rev. Msgr. Thomas Anamooh, advised the people to dialogue,
since that was the only way to resolve the conflict.
He emphasised that violence could not solve their problems but rather worsen them and that their number one enemy was not anybody from within or outside their community but poverty, ignorance, disease and deprivation.
He, therefore, urged them to unite and fight the enemy rather than engage in intra-ethnic fights.
He said the Catholic Church was concerned about their plight but could only support them if they lived in peace and unity. “This is the only way to go,” he stressed.
The Parish Priest of the Bunkpurugu Parish, Very Rev. Fr. Kevin Rand, also appealed to the people to be calm and added that since they were all children of God, they should not kill one another and burn their property.
Over 3,768 people have still been displaced from their homes due to the violence.
Two grinding mills were completely burnt down and the palaces of two chiefs razed to the ground completely. Several quantities of foodstuffs and animals were also stolen in the affected communities and those displaced have sought refuge in Togo or nearby communities.
The perpetrators of the attacks torch the thatch houses deep in the night and later return to pull the mud structures down. The arsonists also perforate the zinc roofs and later burn the houses down.
This was disclosed when a delegation from the Catholic Diocese of Navrongo-Bolgatanga toured the affected conflict communities in the Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District to assess the extent of damage.
A breakdown of the houses burnt are Kambatiak, 52; Gbingbamon, 70; Nasiabuk Number 1, 43; Nasiabuk Number 2, 51, and Gbadauk, 45. The rest are: Tobong Naakuk, 22; Tobong Bufuk, 36; and Gbankoni, 27.
The team, which was dispatched by the Diocesan Administrator, Very Reverend Monsignor Thomas Anamooh, to the conflict area, was led by Mr Joseph Ayembilla, the acting Development Coordinator.
Others were the Parish Priest, Reverend Father Kevin Rand; Rev. Fr. Yosef Giday, Mr Rusmond Annyinah, Diocesan Peace Coordinator, and Mr Lawrence Kwotuah, the Bunkpurugu Parish Peace-building Committee Chairman.
The Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese is in the Upper East Region, but its jurisdiction extends beyond the political administration to include the West and East Mamprusi and Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo districts in the Northern Region.
The first violence occurred on March 18, 2010. Kambatiak and its surrounding communities are inhabited by Bimobas, but the conflict occurred between two clans - the Nandog and Nakuk. The March 18 clash was followed by a reprisal attack on Saturday, March 20, 2010 by the Nandog clan. The renewed violence occurred on Tuesday, April 21, 2010; the third within two months.
A land dispute is believed to be the main cause of the violence.
According to the community members, the violence started when on March 18, 2010, a member of one of the communities, Tubong, tried to extend a grinding mill structure to a land that the District Security Council (DISEC) had placed restrictions on. He was allegedly attacked by the other community and his grinding mill and nearby house set ablaze by the other community, Gbankoni.
At Gbadoo, one of the communities visited on Monday, members of the community told the team that the people were nearly attacked by another group that very day of the visit but for the timely intervention of the police who averted the clash.
The police confirmed the allegation and said three people had been arrested that same day and were being investigated in connection with Monday’s attack.
They told the delegation that they faced some challenges including inadequate rations. They also lamented that their only operational vehicle, a double-cabin pick-up, had a weak battery and personnel occasionally had to push it to get it started.
It also came to light that the security personnel were inadequate and could not thwart any reprisal attacks by any of the communities. This is because the communities are scattered.
In an interview, some of the victims cited some challenges they faced as lack of food, since their entire stock of foodstuffs was burnt in the violence; lack of accommodation, seeds and continued threats from other affected communities
The people called on the church and the government to initiate dialogues among the various communities in order to resolve the conflict.
They further stressed the need for all the political leaders and chiefs from the communities to meet, discuss the cause of the conflict and how to resolve it once and for all.
A teacher in the Gbadao community, Mr Godwin Duak, called on the MP of the area, Mr Emmanuel Kwame Duut, to initiate a dialogue between the affected communities.
The people further appealed to the Catholic Church to support them with relief items, since most people now slept in the open, and seeds as the farming season approached.
Currently, most of the people have no shelter or food. Women and children are the most vulnerable and helpless in the area.
The acting Diocesan Development Coordinator, Joseph Ayembilla, on behalf of the Diocesan Administrator, Very Rev. Msgr. Thomas Anamooh, advised the people to dialogue,
since that was the only way to resolve the conflict.
He emphasised that violence could not solve their problems but rather worsen them and that their number one enemy was not anybody from within or outside their community but poverty, ignorance, disease and deprivation.
He, therefore, urged them to unite and fight the enemy rather than engage in intra-ethnic fights.
He said the Catholic Church was concerned about their plight but could only support them if they lived in peace and unity. “This is the only way to go,” he stressed.
The Parish Priest of the Bunkpurugu Parish, Very Rev. Fr. Kevin Rand, also appealed to the people to be calm and added that since they were all children of God, they should not kill one another and burn their property.
No comments:
Post a Comment