Two die in renewed hostilities between Nkonya, Alavanyo
Two persons were shot dead by unknown assailants at Nkonya last Wednesday night in what appeared to be renewed hostilities between the people of Nkonya and Alavanyo in the Volta Region.
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The two have been identified as Yaw Akombo, 40 and Mawusi Prince Dorku 31, both from Nkonya Asakyire.
Three other persons who were injured in the shooting incident are receiving attention at the Worawora Government Hospital and Volta Reginal Hospital in Ho.
There has been a long-standing land dispute between the two communities.
The conflict began on May 24, 1923 and was amicably settled, but resurrected 60 years later in 1983 and since then, it has assumed different dimensions.
The Volta Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Nana Asomah Hinneh, who confirmed the shooting incident to the Daily Graphic in Ho yesterday, said the Volta Regional Security Council had started investigations to establish the cause of the incident and deal resolutely with any security challenges in the area.
Already, there is a military detachment for peacekeeping in the area and more personnel have been deployed to the area to beef up security, following the shooting incident last Wednesday night.
The curfew imposed on the two traditional areas was renewed by the Ministry of the Interior this week.
Peace overtures
There have been several overtures and interventions by the Volta Regional Coordinating Council, non-governmental organisations, religious organisations and government agencies to broker peace between the two traditional areas, but more needs to be done to secure and consolidate the peace in the area.
New peace brokers
Some students of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra have begun a study to find out the root cause of the dispute and the way forward.
They have already administered questionnaires to various respondents in the area and held separate meetings with the chiefs and a section of the two communities to ascertain, determine and recommend the way forward to achieving lasting peace.
Version of Alavanyo
During a visit by the students of KAIPTC to Alavanyo in December 2016, the Paramount Chief of the Alavanyo Traditional Area, Togbe Atakora Tsedze VII, expressed worry about the conflict which, he said, had become the subject of research.
He said he was hopeful that the research would provide a foundation towards the restoration of everlasting peace in the two areas.
According to him, the conflict had degenerated into a show of supremacy between the two traditional areas and reiterated the hope that the research would come out with a lasting solution.
Version of Nkonya
For his part, the Paramount Chief of the Nkonya Wurupong Traditional Area, Nana Kwadjo Asiakwa II, said the two areas had lived peacefully over the years until 1983 when the unexpected happened.