Two persons were confirmed dead in the Yendi municipality, while nine were said to have been killed at Dwerebeafe, Oboyan and Mpaemu in the Kwahu East District following acts of violence between some residents and Fulanis in the two areas.

Deceased persons

One of the victims in the incident that occurred in Yendi has been identified as Ibrahim Abdulai, 24, a butcher, whose body was found in a nearby bush at Kuga in Yendi while the identity of the other victim, believed to be of Fulani extraction, is yet to be established.

Abdulai was believed to have been butchered by some Fulani herdsmen.

The bodies of those who died in the clash between some Fulanis and farmers in Kwahu included Mahamadu Bahashi, 34, Molansu Osman, 33, and Bube Osman 23, all Fulani herdsmen.

The rest have been identified as Sulley Yaw also known as Yaw Kitiwa, 28, Kwesi Asiama, 45, and his brother Kwesi Boateng, 43.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Abetifi, Mr Bryan Acheampong, who is also a Minister of State in charge of National Security, said police reinforcement had been deployed from Accra to support the local security personnel to maintain peace and order in the various communities.

Addressing an emergency meeting of the Kwahu East District Assembly, Mr Acheampong said there had been series of meetings and consultations among the chiefs, cattle owners, security personnel and the Fulani herdsmen to find a solution to the conflict between the factions but to no avail.

He, therefore, advised the cattle owners to send their cattle to the fodder banks in the Afram Plains to ensure peace in the area.

According to the Assembly Member for the Hweehwee Electoral Area, Mr Solomon Aboagye, he had a telephone call three days ago from Mpaemu, near Hweehwee that two brothers failed to return from their farms that day and urged the youth at the village to organise a search party to look for them the following day.

He said the youth went to their farm and found the bodies of the two brothers in a pool of blood with gunshot wounds and later informed the police who went with them to convey the bodies to the Kwahu Government Hospital at Atibie.

The incident is said to have infuriated the locals who attacked some Fulanis, leading to the death of seven of them.

Retaliatory attacks/deployment of police

Reports from the police in Yendi said some residents of the town, upon hearing the death of Abdulai, also attacked the Fulanis, leading to the death of one of them.

Following the reprisal attacks, the Northern Regional Police Command has deployed additional policemen to Yendi to prevent the escalation of tension between residents of Yendi and the Fulanis in the area.

So far, no arrest has been made, but calm has since returned to Yendi following additional deployment of police personnel to the area.

Narration

According to the spokesperson of the Northern Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mr Mohammed Yusif Tanko, said at about 6.30p.m. on October 29, 2017, the Assembly Member for the Kugu Electoral Area in Yendi, Imoro Ibrahim, went to the Yendi Police Station to report that he had found a dead body in a nearby bush.

He said the complainant led the police to the scene about one kilometre away from Kuga and found the body of the deceased lying in a supine position with multiple deep machete wounds and his motorbike parked beside him.

ASP Tanko said preliminary investigations revealed that Abdulai had told his elder brother that he had arranged with a Fulani man to buy a cow from him so he was going there and othing was heard from him till his death was reported to the police.

The police spokesperson said around 10p.m. the same day, the police received information that some Fulanis were being attacked by unidentified people in Yendi.

He said the police, upon receiving the information, moved to the town to establish the veracity of the reports.

In the process, they found four Fulanis at different locations who had sustained multiple injuries.

They were rushed to the Yendi Hospital for treatment but one of them was pronounced dead.