Bawku conflict: Commit to nonviolent ways to resolve differences – Peace Council to factions

The National Peace Council has called on factions involved in the Bawku Conflict to stop all acts of violence and commit to nonviolent ways of resolving their differences.

The call by the Peace Council follows renewed violence in the area.

“The National Peace Council has observed that between 2013 to 2017 when the parties used dialogue, they were able to resuscitate the Bawku Inter-Ethnic Peace Committee (BIEPC) which was set up under the auspices of the National Peace Council to facilitate the peace process in Bawku.

“With these engagements and dialogues, the parties achieved a lot of successes facilitated by the BIEPC and we believe that with similar efforts these successes can be sustained,” the Council noted in a statement issued and signed by its Chairman, Rev Dr Ernest Adu Gyamfi on Tuesday, 28 December 2021.

The Council further noted that since November, when renewed violence erupted in the township, it “has been working with state partners and those in civil society to continue engagement with the parties through dialogue and other peaceful approaches.”

It, therefore, called on “all sides of the conflict to cease fire and seek nonviolent ways to address their grievances” calling particularly on the “leaders and youth of both sides of the conflict.”

The Council urged “the Upper East REGSEC to conduct the necessary inquiry into the circumstances that led to the unfortunate occurrences and thereafter, make the appropriate recommendations.”

The National Peace Council also assured that it will “continue to work closely with the REGSEC to calm the tension and explore opportunities for dialogue as soon as practicable.

There were reports of gunshots in Bawku in the early hours of Monday, 27 December 2021.

This led to destruction of property in the town and loss of lives.

A similar inciden occurred on Thursday, 18 November 2021 leading to the imposition of a curfew on the township.