Local security conflict

Five people are dead and security forces have been rushed to the Nkwanta South Municipality of the Oti Region following a fresh outbreak of violence that shattered a 13-point peace agreement reached barely three weeks ago, in what officials have described as a dangerous escalation of one of Ghana’s most persistent communal conflicts.Inspector-General of Police Christian Tetteh Yohuno dispatched two armoured vehicles along with officers from the National Police Operations Unit to the area on the night of March 25, 2026. A joint security team comprising the Police, Military, Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), Defence Intelligence and the Ghana National Fire Service recovered five bodies, three males and two females, from two separate locations within the municipality.Three of the victims have been identified as 77-year-old Nana Achinake Iddrisu, 24-year-old Fusheni Achinake and 17-year-old Nuhu Achinake, who were reportedly attacked while working on their farm and burnt beyond recognition.On Thursday, March 26, Oti Regional Police Commander DCOP Alex Acquah led a joint delegation of police, military, BNI and Defence Intelligence personnel to the area, meeting officers on the ground and engaging the Zongo Chief, Alhaji Issaka Kayaba, and community elders. The team conveyed condolences on behalf of the IGP and the Police Management Board (POMAB) to families of the deceased. The Zongo Chief assured the delegation of his community’s commitment to peace and non-retaliation.The commander also inspected the scene of a previous arson incident at Dadaga, where two persons were killed in an earlier attack.The National Peace Council condemned the renewed violence, describing it as both troubling and unexpected. The Council noted that it had been in Nkwanta from March 1 to 3 to facilitate a dialogue, after which all parties signed a 13-point declaration committing to peace.Security analyst Andrews Asiedu Tetteh called for intensified security intelligence and argued that authorities had remained passive as the situation escalated. He characterised the recent peace pact as an exercise in futility, saying security agencies should have been proactive in arresting and prosecuting those responsible for instigating the violence. He described the conflict as having moved beyond clashes into a cycle of retaliation.The violence is rooted in a long-running dispute among three ethnic groups in the Nkwanta area the Adele, Akyode and Challa fuelled by tensions over land boundaries. NewsGhana has reported on successive waves of deadly clashes in the municipality stretching back years, with the government having previously deployed joint security teams, uncovered weapons caches, imposed curfews and facilitated multiple peace processes, none of which has produced a lasting settlement.The Regional Police Command said investigations are ongoing to identify and apprehend those responsible. Residents have been urged to cooperate with security agencies and refrain from spreading misinformation.