Farmer shot dead at Bunkpurugu
A retired educationist and farmer was last Saturday shot dead at Bunkpurugu.
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The shooting of Nyankpen John Laari is believed to be linked to the on-going chieftaincy conflict between the Jafouk and Jamong families.
A police source confirmed the shooting to death of Laari but declined to comment further.
Mr Laari was said to have been shot on his farm around 9 a.m. last Saturday by unknown gunmen.
This is the second time within two weeks that someone has been shot on the farm since the conflict erupted.
In the first incident, the victim survived and is currently on admission at the Tamale Teaching Hospital.
This also brings to five the number of people killed since the conflict broke out about two months ago, following a misunderstanding between the two families.
Ban on farming
The Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District Security Council recently banned farming activities in the Bunkpurugu township as part of measures to deal with reprisal attacks.
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It, however, permitted farming at the outskirts of the town where there was no curfew in place.
Of the five persons who have since lost their lives, one was shot dead by the military during curfew hours.
Bunkpurugu is under a 4 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew but the curfew has been imposed only on the Bunkpurugu township, leaving out the surrounding communities. According to some residents in those communities which are not under the curfew, people have taken advantage to commit those crimes.
Background
The prolonged chieftaincy dispute is between the two royal gates at Bunkpurugu, the Jafouk and Jamong, with the former being the ruling gate and the latter the opposing side in the dispute.
Appeal
Meanwhile, the Deputy Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji A.B.A. Fuseini, has condemned the killing which he said was stifling the peace initiative in the area.
He has also appealed to the various factions in the chieftaincy conflict to use dialogue to resolve their differences instead of resorting to the use of arms and to embrace peace for the development of the area and the region as a whole.
The Member of Parliament for Bunkpurugu, Solomon Namlit, has also called on the Northern Regional House of Chiefs to intervene to resolve the dispute.