The Ministry of Interior has extended the night-time curfew hours for Alabanyo and Nkonya counties and surrounding areas in Ghana’s Volta and Oti regions.
Starting Sunday 23 June 2024, a night-time curfew will restrict movement within designated areas between 6pm and 6am every day.
Alabanyo and Nkonya have long been embroiled in a border dispute dating back to 1923, exacerbated by the region’s abundant resources of timber, bamboo and kola nuts that have fuelled ongoing violence for many years.
The conflict reached a crisis point in May 2022 when a fatal shooting left one woman dead and another injured. The Volta Regional Peace Council has recorded 85 deaths since 1983 and has called for an end to reprisal killings.
Efforts to manage the conflict have included military and police interventions, court rulings, stakeholder peacebuilding efforts, and mediation efforts.
The Ministry of Interior did not give reasons for renewing the curfew but stressed that in order to maintain peace and security, the carrying of arms, ammunition and any offensive weaponry within the affected areas is prohibited.
“The Minister of Interior, by executive order, has extended the curfew hours imposed in Alabanyo and Nkonya townships in the Oti region and surrounding areas from 6pm to 6am with effect from Sunday, 23rd June, 2024.”
“The government continues to express its gratitude to chiefs, elders, opinion leaders, youths and residents for their efforts in ensuring peace in the area and urges them to utilise established mechanisms for the resolution of all disputes and disputes,” the statement said.
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