The General Officer Commanding (GOC) Northern Command, Brigadier General Worlanyo Agbebo, has expressed deep concern over the deadly conflict at Gbiniyiri in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District of the Savannah Region.
He revealed that the dispute, which has claimed 11 lives and displaced over a thousand residents, was over a piece of land no bigger than a room.
Speaking during a meeting with Nyab Choggu Naa, Brigadier General Agbebo described the violence as avoidable.
“What happened at Sola, leading to the fighting and burning of houses, is something that two people could have just sat down to resolve. The land in question is not bigger than this place, yet about 11 people have been killed and several houses burned down,” he lamented.
The clashes have also resulted in the destruction of food crops and property, leaving women and children stranded, with many spending nights under trees. Some schoolchildren preparing for exams are among those displaced.
Brigadier General Agbebo urged traditional leaders to counsel their subjects, particularly the youth, to pursue dialogue rather than violence in resolving disputes.
“Poverty is our real enemy in the north. But the little we build, we destroy ourselves. From our experiences in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Côte d’Ivoire, we know war doesn’t bring development. We will not allow it to happen here,” he stressed.
He called for calm and encouraged the community to prioritize peaceful conflict resolution, warning that taking the law into one’s own hands only worsens the plight of families and stalls development.
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Source: Abigail Bonney | Adomonline.com
