In light of the escalating tension in Bawku, John Krugu, the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Zebilla, has expressed worry about the purported abuse of the Ghana Card to determine a person’s tribal connections.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Monday, October 28, Mr. Krugu asserted that there had been catastrophic results from the alleged exploitation of the Ghana Card to separate out people based on their ethnic affiliations.
Mr. Krugu explained how the violence’s toll has overrun the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital. Roads in the area have been blocked because of the continuous conflict, making it difficult to move severely injured people to Bolgatanga.
He further revealed that the conflict has led to the deaths of individuals who were not part of the primary groups in the dispute, specifically Kusasis and Mamprusis, suggesting that the violence has affected people beyond the main factions.
Mr. Krugu’s comments highlight the conflict’s complexity and scope, which has escalated in recent days and raised serious security concerns throughout the region.
In an effort to stop the situation from getting worse and to bring calm back, more police and military personnel have been deployed to Bawku and the neighbouring districts.
“I am aware that people have not slept in the last two nights. It has been a full-fledged war ongoing and now you have a situation where two factional chiefs are living next to each other. Bawku is not a big town and each side is aiming at getting to the other person so you have an illegitimate chief who is sitting there and then you have the existing chief who is celebrating 40 years on the throne and then you have young men who are losing their lives.
“Last night, we got the message that there was no space to keep the injured at the Presbyterian Hospital, roads were blocked and you cannot carry the injured to Bolgatanga for treatment. The roads between Bolga and Tamale were blocked and people were being asked for their Ghana Cards to identify their tribal affiliation and to kill them.
“I am aware that some people who do not belong to the two tribes were mistakenly killed and this is a sad situation that we are having.”
On Sunday, October 27, gunmen opened fire and barricaded the Bolgatanga-Tamale route in Gbimsi, a hamlet near Walewale, killing eight travellers.
About eight individuals were killed in the fatal incident, which raised serious security concerns. Passengers caught in the barricade were questioned about their identity. Two vehicles were also set on fire.
Source: Citinewsroom