General News of Wednesday, 20 March 2002

Source:  

Police send reinforcement to Mamprusi District

Police on Tuesday sent re-enforcement to the village of Giberug in the Mamprusi District of the Northern Region where clashes between two clans led to the death of at least two people.

Reliable sources with the Police administration told the Ghana News Agency that the re-enforcements had been drawn from Gambaga to contain the situation which had spilled over to a nearby village.

The source confirmed that the dispute was between the Japaak/Tamon and Tulis clans over who should be the clan head. The clash was reported to have displaced 1,200 at Dunglaar-Gberuk, near Bimbagu in the Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo constituency of the Northern Region.

An old lady received severe burns and a large stock of foodstuffs, 36 compound houses and two corn mills were burnt to ashes while over 60 cattle were lost in the ethnic violence which occurred in the area at the weekend. Mr Berrik Namburr, Member of Parliament for the area, who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Tuesday, said most of the people had fled the area.

He, therefore, called on the Government as a matter of urgency to go to the aid of the people by holding discussions with the opinion leaders and elders of the two clans to arrive at a suitable solution. Mr Namburr appealed to the Minister of the Interior and the Northern Regional Security Council to take steps to beef up security in the area to stop the carnage.

He said a source from the area named the two deceased persons as Pokper Laar Kombat, 75, and Dung Dubik, 55, adding that the unidentified woman was on admission at a clinic at Bindi.

He said whatever measure, that was taken to resolve the land and chieftaincy problems between the clans in 2000 had failed since the Tulis returned and started rebuilding their houses in the disputed area.