A shooting incident involving residents of Gomoa Oguaakrom and New Winneba in the Central Region, reportedly linked to a land dispute, has left seven people injured, including a police officer.

In the early hours of Tuesday, September 1, a group of individuals from Gomoa Oguaakrom, claiming ownership of land in New Winneba, allegedly stormed the community and opened fire on residents.

The situation escalated after the group reportedly attempted to lock up some shops in the area, prompting residents of New Winneba to resist and resulting in a confrontation that later turned into a gun battle.

Following the incident, the police arrived at the scene to contain the situation, restore calm, and prevent further destruction.

In a similar development, violent clashes between residents and herdsmen in Gbeniyiri and surrounding communities in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District of the Savannah Region claimed the lives of four individuals and left five others injured.

The injured were receiving treatment at various health facilities in the area. The violence erupted after a resident was killed during a robbery attack. In retaliation, some relatives of the deceased launched an attack on herdsmen suspected to be behind the crime.

Last year, several properties were destroyed, with more than 50,000 individuals displaced due to tensions in the area. The conflict in Gbeniyiri stemmed from a land dispute between a resident and the chief’s son, which began on Saturday, August 23.

The unresolved conflict spread to Kalba and other parts of the district. Despite the deployment of 400 police personnel to the area to maintain law and order, clashes between the rival groups persisted.

Unknown assailants shot a middle-aged man to death near Kalba, a suburb of the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District in the Savannah Region, on Sunday, September 7.

The gunmen ambushed the deceased and opened fire as he rode his motorcycle. According to the police, the deceased, whose identity was yet to be revealed, had travelled from his community, Uro, to Kalba to charge his mobile phone due to the lack of electricity in his area.

The body of the deceased was later deposited at St. Anne’s Catholic Hospital in Damongo by the Ghana Police Service. The incident occurred amid the protracted conflict in Gbeniyiri, which had claimed multiple lives.The latest death brought the official toll from the conflict to 32.

Residents, however, expressed fear over the security situation. Speaking to the media, a resident noted, “With this killing, who do you think will trust the system again? Some of us suspected this to happen because the guys are still around in Kalba town, and if you deceive yourself and go there, they will just end your life like this farmer. To me, this reaffirms the fears and mistrust in the system. The authorities need to do more than just talk and go”.

Meanwhile, a seven-member mediation committee was established by the Interior Ministry in response to the ongoing land conflict in Gbeniyiri in the Savannah Region.

The committee was tasked with a one-month mandate to assist the government in finding a lasting solution to the tensions in the area.During the inauguration ceremony at the Interior Ministry in Accra, the sector Minister, Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka, noted that the establishment of the committee was a recommendation from the National Security Council.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Christian Tetteh Yohunu, alongside senior officials from the Armed Forces, Prisons Service, and Immigration Service, had already visited Kalba, Sawla, and other affected communities in efforts to restore calm in the area.

In a related development, President John Mahama initiated steps to restore peace in the Sawla-Bole area of the Savannah Region following renewed tensions between the Gonja and Brifor communities.