Upper East Regional Minister Mark Wayongo says he had to duck to avoid being hit by bullets when his entourage came under intense fire in Bawku.

Indeed he had to lie on the ground in a supine position at a certain point in time as a barrage of gunshots caught them off guard.

Narrating his ordeal to Joy FM’s Super Morning host Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, Mr Wayongo said he and his entourage had had information that a number of people had been killed and their bodies were lying near the Bawku Stadium.

So he decided to go see the situation for himself.

“A few hundred yards away from the stadium, we came out of the cars and just as we came out we came under very severe (gun) fire and the commander asked us to squat so we did that. The shooting became very intense, so he asked us to lie down so we had to lie down for some time, then the military returned fire.”

He said, faced with superior, and skilled firing, the combatants retreated and “after some time there was a lull, so we decided to get back into our vehicle and get back to town.”

What is Mr Wayongo’s assessment of the level of strength of the combatants?, he was asked, to which he responded, “(while) the military had their G3s and AK47, the combatants had very sophisticated weapons and you needed to be there to see the numbers.”

The regional minister observed the sheer numbers of the gun-toting ‘rebels’ was frightening because “we were on a hill overlooking a valley and down the valley we saw close to a hundred combatants and they were all firing.”

He said with the 2 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew imposed Monday in the wake of the resurgence of violence, an uneasy calm had returned to the area.

“The reports I’m getting are that the people are out and are going about their duties as if nothing had happened the previous day but that is Bawku for you,” he stated.

On the question of what was being done to ensure things do not relapse, he said police and military reinforcement had been sent to the place to beef up security.

He believes the current number of security personnel “is enough if they are well equipped, for example we want a helicopter (because) if we had a helicopter those people who were firing at us” would have been arrested and dealt with.

Interior Minister Cletus Avoka Monday told Kojo bullet-proof pick-ups and about a 100 bullet-proof vests were being sent to the area to help the security personnel effectively keep the peace.

But the equipment, Mr Wayongo said, were yet to be received, expressing the hope that the equipment will come by the end of the week.

Intermittent chieftaincy violence has plagued Bawku for decades, claiming lives and property in its wake.

Successive governments appear to be at their wits end as to how to squelch the constant simmering tensions and find a lasting solution to the protracted conflict between the Kussasis and the Manprusis.

Listen to the attached audio for Mr Mark Wayongo's submission on the Super Morning Show.


Story by Malik Abass Daabu/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana