It took a combined team of the military and police to quell a fierce clash between supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Northern Regional capital, Tamale yesterday.

In the ensuing melee sheds were set ablaze but the youth involved in the disturbance disappeared when detachments of troops from the 6 BN and the Airborne Force were deployed to the Changli suburb of the regional capital, scene of the troubles.

The security forces however succeeded in arresting over 50 suspects who were currently being held by the police.

According to some of the suspects, they were molested by the soldiers even though they had nothing to do with the fracas, with some narrating a horrendous encounter with their captors.

They claimed that they were made to lie down with their eyes fixed on the blazing sun, while others were allegedly made to slap each other. The bitter clash was instigated by a confrontation between two young men belonging to the two leading political parties, attracting other supporters of the parties into the fracas.

According to DSP Washington Foli, the Tamale District Commander, the two factions had been at loggerheads for sometime now. Continuing, he said yesterday one person belonging to one of the political parties engaged in a scuffle with another of a different party. The scuffle attracted the attention of others who rushed to the scene and joined in the melee.

A structure belonging to the NDC was pulled down and this was followed by a retaliatory action. The Police upon information about the breach of law and order rushed to the scene but the feuding factions vamoosed on sensing danger.

Soldiers who undertook a swoop in the suburb rounded up 50 suspects who were being held in Police custody as investigations continued into the disorder. The Northern Regional capital is a hotbed of politics - a situation which has been aggravated by the chieftaincy divide among the mainly Dagomba ethnic group. The Tamale, Yendi and Bawku areas are particularly seen as flashpoints for political violence and disturbance.