5 Dead, others injured in clash at Gbeniyiri

Five persons have been killed and five others injured in a clash between residents and herdsmen at Gbeniyiri and surrounding communities in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District of the Savannah Region.

Two of the deceased have already been buried at Sawla, while the remaining three bodies have been deposited at the morgue of the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District Hospital.

The injured are currently receiving treatment at various health facilities.

Violence

The Daily Graphic gathered that the violence erupted after a resident was killed in a robbery attack in the area.

Relatives of the victim are said to have launched a reprisal attack on herdsmen who were accused of being behind the robbery.

Further checks indicated that the incident was not connected to the recent communal conflict in the area, which claimed several lives and displaced others.

Confirming the incident, the District Chief Executive for Sawla-Tuna-Kalba, Senitina Saaka, explained that the violence was believed to have been triggered by a robbery incident in one of the suburbs during, which a victim was killed after resisting attackers in the bush.

According to him, the killing triggered reprisal attacks by relatives of the deceased, which later fuelled the ongoing violence and casualties in the area.

He said security had been beefed up in the area, while investigations were ongoing to arrest the perpetrators.