A clash between locals and herdsmen on Wednesday, has left two persons dead.
The bodies of the two, Kofi Owusu, 60, and Padmo Adufo, 75, both farmers, were found in the bush on Wednesday morning after a search by police and residents of the area.
[contextly_sidebar id=”afCmulUWQCWFnCHOnaPw4Azv8CTrsrw6″]The incident occurred around Jeduako, about 35 kilometres from Nsuta in the Sekyere Central District of the Ashanti Region.
According to Police, the locals shot and killed about seven cattle belonging to the herdsmen, a situation that triggered a response from the herdsmen.
Nsuta Divisional Police Commander, DSP Charles Atuah, who confirmed the incident to Citi News said the herdsmen laid ambush and shot three of the locals.
“…the community members led us to the various places where those persons who were shot by herdsmen were lying. We went to those places in the bush, about 10 to 12 km from the main town,” he stated.
According to police investigations, the farmers sparked the tensions by killing the cattle of the herdsmen.
“They [the farmers] launched the attack against the herdsmen. The report was that the community members killed seven cattle of the Herdsmen and in the process, they also killed two of their members. So that was what actually happened on the ground,” DSP Charles Atuah narrated.
The two died instantly, while another injured person was treated and discharged.
The bodies of the two deceased have been deposited at the Asante Mampong Government Hospital morgue.
Sekyere district in fear as herdsmen ‘takeover’ the area
Fleeing nomadic herdsmen from Agogo in the Ashanti Region, have reportedly settled down in their numbers in the Sekyere Central District of the Ashanti Region.
Areas such as Nsuta, Esereso, Ntrodo, Nkodua-Aframso among others, are now the new destination for the herdsmen.
Speaking to Citi News, Nsuta Police Commander, DSP Charles Atuah, said even though they have found the nomadic herdsmen at these areas, they will need intensive actions to be able to move them due to possible violent behaviours.
Charles Atuah said the district is constraint logistically, and handling such a matter is beyond their control. Residents of the Sekyere Central District had called on the government to act to stop the migration.
The District Chief Executive for the area, Kwadwo Bediako Banahene, had declared war on the herdsmen, saying the police and military will be used to evict them if they refuse to leave the town.
He said the district cannot contain them, adding that he will not allow what happened at Agogo to be repeated in his district.
9 dead after Fulani herdsmen and farmers clash
In October 2017, nine persons were reported dead at Dwerebeafe, Aboyan and Mpeamu in the Kwahu East District, following clashes between nomadic herdsmen and some Kwahu farmers.
The Member of Parliament for the Abetifi Constituency, Bryan Acheampong, disclosed this when he addressed an emergency meeting of the Kwahu East District Assembly.
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By: Hafiz Tijani/citifmonline.com/Ghana