Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery has suggested to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to set up a committee to address the renewed conflict at Nkwanta South in the Oti region.
In a statement on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, Mr Dery attributed the conflicts to land disputes and emphasised the need to deal with it.
“We will be sending NADMO to go to the area to find out what we can do to ameliorate the situation. Mr Speaker, I want to work with my colleagues, with the REGSEG. Let us set up a committee. I want the Lands Commission to be involved that will do something about the underlying land conflict,” he said.
He made the comments after Members of Parliament (MPs) in the area, raised concerns about the protracted dispute and appealed for intervention to ensure peace and stability.
The area is currently under a curfew following a recent disturbance between Adele, Challa and Akyode ethnic groups that claimed 11 lives.
Several houses and properties have also been destroyed.
Nkwanta South MP, Geofery Kini said residents are worried as schools, markets, services outlets and financial institutions remain closed.
He hinted there is an eminent famine since farm produce remain in bushes and appealed to residents to help restore peace.
“We in Nkwanta South cannot afford to continue to be at each other’s throats when our very lives are being destroyed.
“I wish to indicate that any individual or group of persons who persist in ignoring the national call and continue to wreak havoc on the area must be decisively and comprehensively dealt with according to the law so that they do not hold the people of the area to ransom,” he said.
The Nkwanta North MP, John Oti Bless also expressed worry about the effects of the curfew on the movement of persons and goods.
Meanwhile, Mr Dery has assured there is relative calm in the area but added addressing the land dispute is one of the most effective ways to end the conflict.
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