THE former President, Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings has appealed to both the Andanis and the Abudus in the Dagbon chieftaincy divide to come together to resolve their differences through dialogue.

?Let us not compound the painful situation that we already face by trying to cause further mayhem,? he said. Flt Lt Rawlings described the murder of the Ya-Na as most unfortunate. ?I do not think the killing of the Ya-Na was the desire of the mainstream Abudus,? he said, adding that, ?the dastardly act was carried out by quite a few dubious minded people.?

The former President made the appeal in Tamale during a courtesy call on the Regent of Tamale and his elders on Saturday.

He urged the protagonists from both sides to ?find a way of resolving this problem without any further bloodshed or any further antagonism.

Former President Rawlings said a peaceful co-existence would necessarily make the government lift the state of emergency in the Dagbon area to enable the people go back to their socio-economic activities to improve their lot. He expressed his condolences to the chiefs and people of Dagbon and the widows of the late Ya-Na.

In response, Mr Abu Sufiyan who deputised for the regent, Alhaji Ziblim Abdulai thanked the former President for his concern and appealed to the government to ensure that the perpetrators behind the murder of the Ya-Na are made to face the full rigours of the law.

Thousands of people in the municipality turned up in their numbers to welcome the former President to the municipality.

The former President had a hectic time making his way to the chief?s court to exchange greetings with the chiefs and elders who had assembled there almost the whole day.