Teachers and nurses have begun exiting Bawku in the Upper East Region following renewed gun battles in the municipality.
A renewed clash between the Mamprusis and Kusasis over the weekend after an old man was allegedly killed led to shootings that left several people dead and many properties destroyed.
A local journalist in the area, Seidu Mutawakilu, said, “some teachers and nurses who came from places including Kumasi are parking out of the town because they fear for their lives.
“Even we journalists can’t go out to pick up information without protection from security personnel. The current situation in Bawku is volatile.”
According to the Public Relations Officer of the Union of Professional Nurses and Midwives Ghana (UPNMG), Issah Awuni Sulley, the situation has made it difficult for health workers to perform their regular duties.
“Health professionals in the Bawku municipality are living in fear…For instance, once a nurse is supposed to go for a night shift, it makes it difficult for her because a stray bullet can hit him or her at any point,” he said.
He said the clash has also affected the cost of living of the nurses in the municipality because nurses now pay more for transportation since the demand for tricycles has increased.
“Our means of transport which used to be the motorbikes, have now been banned; our only means of transport now is the ‘Mahama Camboo’ (tricycles) as we call it in Bawku municipality here.
“Our cost of living as health professionals in the Bawku municipality has increased because the ‘Camboo’ fares have gone up. We spend a lot actually on transport,” he lamented.
Meanwhile, residents of Bawku are pleading with the government to work assiduously to end the brutalities and bring peace to their communities.
On December 19, 2022, several people were reportedly killed while others sustained various injuries in the renewed chieftaincy clashes.
The violence erupted after the alleged killing of an old man and his son at Natinga on Saturday.
The old man was shot dead at home, while his son died later on Sunday. This led to sporadic shooting within the Bawku township leading to casualties.
The Bawku township, for months now, has experienced recurring curfews imposed by the Ministry for the Interior due to the restart of the conflict in November 2021.