Tamale, March. 7, GNA- Lieutenant-Colonel William Omane-Agyekum, the immediate past Commanding Officer of the Six Infantry Battalion in Tamale, has urged military personnel, especially members of the Unit, "to do all they could to make this year's general election a peaceful one".

Lt-Col Omane Agyekum said 2008 was a challenging year for security personnel all over the country, especially those in the Northern Region, where there were are pockets of conflicts in parts of the area.

He was speaking during the handing over of the leadership of the Battalion to Lt-Col. Joseph Aphour, who was his second-in-command, in Tamale on Wednesday. He is to take up other responsibilities at the Armed Forces Staff College in Accra.

The out-going officer said his six years service in the Unit could not have been fulfilled without the support of his colleague soldiers and urged the personnel to extend the same cooperation to the new Commanding Officer.

He expressed his gratitude to Alhaji Mustapha Idris, Northern Regional Minister, the Regional Security Council, members of the various security services, the District Chief Executives and all those who made his tenure of office a successful one.

He urged people in the various conflict areas in the region to be tolerant with one another and use dialogue to resolve all differences to ensure peace in the region.