A tragic incident has occurred involving a driver transporting students from Kongo Senior High School (SHS) in Nabdam to Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region.
The driver lost his life when armed assailants attacked the vehicle, as reported by Adomonline.com.
The attack unfolded around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 2, 2024, in front of Bawku SHS while the students were returning from Widana. The gunmen forcibly removed the students from the vehicle and subsequently set it ablaze with the driver still inside.
This violent act is believed to be linked to the ongoing chieftaincy conflict in Bawku, which has intensified recently. Since the resurgence of this dispute, approximately 21 people have been killed, following the return of a rival chief deemed illegitimate by the government.
In a separate incident just days earlier, on Sunday, October 27, 2024, armed men obstructed the Bolgatanga-Tamale road near the village of Gbimsi and opened fire on travellers, resulting in the deaths of eight individuals.
The attackers also set up barricades to target specific individuals, leading to heightened security concerns in the area, with two vehicles also being torched.
The string of violent incidents has raised alarm about safety in the region, underscoring the ongoing challenges posed by the chieftaincy dispute and its impact on the local community.
“I was traveling from Sunyani to Paga. Upon reaching Walewale, people had mounted roadblocks and were searching for individuals to kill. The incident lasted for more than an hour, yet security did not respond,” a survivor recounted of the terrifying ordeal.