65 people injured in Zaare clashes

Red Cross Society reports indicates that at least 65 people sustained various degrees of injuries in the Zaare factional clashes in the Upper East Region that begun on Saturday over rights to farmlands. Three hundred and fifty people are displaced while 15 houses were burnt. The displaced people are putting up with families and friends.

The Regional Co-ordinator of the Society, Mr Joe Abarike, told newsmen that the immediate needs of those displaced was food and shelter, because their food banks were burnt, and the rains have also set in.

Security personnel have intensified patrols throughout Zaare and beyond to Nyariga, where it is anticipated that there could be pockets of the clashes. The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mahami Salifu, for the second time in two days have visited the area to ascertain the extent of damage caused by the clashes.

Mr. Salifu told the people gathered at the chiefs palace that the Regional Security Committee (REGSEC) would not compromise the peace of the area, and would compel the people to observe it as such. He announced that long-term negotiations would start soon, but that peace must necessary return to the area first.

Mr. Salifu appealed to the people to discard ideas on which faction was the cause of the conflict, adding that the region was already in poverty and needs the support and co-operation of all and sundry to improve the situation. The Minister urged them to expose perpetrators of trouble in the area to the security agencies for possible apprehension and prosecution.